What it's really like to live with Type 1 diabetes
I was diagnosed at 17. Fifty three years ago. I wrote this poem for the newly diagnosed:
Write darling.
Write
Every
Fucking
Detail
of your agony.
Carve
your losses
into the page.
Soak them
with the tears
of your
disappointment.
You
are worth
all
the time
it takes
to get well.
Step back.
Witness
it all
from a distance.
Put away the
number two pencil.
This is not
a test,
but
An invitation
to love yourself
more,
an invitation
to give
sweetness
access
to your pain.
to learn
the subtle,
life-changing
difference
between
checking up
and
checking in.
Study
The great for givers.
Ask
for the recipe
of their balm.
You will need it
when you break
your own
heart.
And you will break it.
But less and less
as you receive and
give mercy
to yourself.
Do your best
not to use
your illness
as an excuse
or currency.
Excuses are kryptonite.
Dare to step into your power.
Healers if all
sizes and shapes
will arrive
at your door.
Some
will be
the real deal.
Some,
snake oil
salesmen.
Invite them in.
They are
reflections
of you.
Fortune tellers
will predict
Blindness.
Stroke.
Amputation.
Unbutton you blouse
and gaze
into your the heart
of your own
crystal ball.
Linger there.
Faking optimism
is a form
Of self-abandonment.
Dismissing it
altogether
is abuse.
Mistakes will happen.
Overdoses will happen.
An overdosed mind
is a mind
without sugar.
A mind
unable
to think
the old
thoughts.
Mistakes
have the power
to usher in
new worlds.
Allow all
The banished
parts of you
a seat
at your table.
Gather the sweetness
that needs
no measurement,
requires
no injection
and pour it
generously
over
every
frightened
part
of
you.
Breathe, darling.
And again now.
Breathe.
Sorry to hear that.
Diabetes in general is indeed a very widespread and life-changing medical condition.
Thanks for sharing.
This was really interesting, sad, and powerful to read. Thank you for sharing and educating me a bit more on what it’s like to live with an invisible disease
Thanks for reading, Olivia -- I really appreciate it :)
I was diagnosed at 17. Fifty three years ago. I wrote this poem for the newly diagnosed:
Write darling.
Write
Every
Fucking
Detail
of your agony.
Carve
your losses
into the page.
Soak them
with the tears
of your
disappointment.
You
are worth
all
the time
it takes
to get well.
Step back.
Witness
it all
from a distance.
Put away the
number two pencil.
This is not
a test,
but
An invitation
to love yourself
more,
an invitation
to give
sweetness
access
to your pain.
An invitation
to learn
the subtle,
but
life-changing
difference
between
checking up
and
checking in.
Study
The great for givers.
Ask
for the recipe
of their balm.
You will need it
when you break
your own
heart.
And you will break it.
But less and less
as you receive and
give mercy
to yourself.
Do your best
not to use
your illness
as an excuse
or currency.
Excuses are kryptonite.
Dare to step into your power.
Healers if all
sizes and shapes
will arrive
at your door.
Some
will be
the real deal.
Some,
snake oil
salesmen.
Invite them in.
They are
reflections
of you.
Fortune tellers
will predict
Blindness.
Stroke.
Amputation.
Unbutton you blouse
and gaze
into your the heart
of your own
crystal ball.
Linger there.
Faking optimism
is a form
Of self-abandonment.
Dismissing it
altogether
is abuse.
Mistakes will happen.
Overdoses will happen.
An overdosed mind
is a mind
without sugar.
A mind
unable
to think
the old
thoughts.
Mistakes
have the power
to usher in
new worlds.
Allow all
The banished
parts of you
a seat
at your table.
Gather the sweetness
that needs
no measurement,
requires
no injection
and pour it
generously
over
every
frightened
part
of
you.
Breathe, darling.
And again now.
Breathe.
Sorry to hear that.
Diabetes in general is indeed a very widespread and life-changing medical condition.
Thanks for sharing.
This was really interesting, sad, and powerful to read. Thank you for sharing and educating me a bit more on what it’s like to live with an invisible disease
Thanks for reading, Olivia -- I really appreciate it :)