My Husband and I Both Have Diabetes: A Partner in Life Who “Gets It”
By: Laura Bobik
I was diagnosed at the tough age of 14 –
And I always felt isolated and alone in dealing with my diabetes because we all know that you don’t “know” diabetes unless you live with it. I didn’t know anyone who had diabetes, but I knew it wasn’t going to define me! I wanted to live a normal life and never stand out as different than my peers.
The desire to always be treated “normal” drove me to feel a lot of shame. Where I felt like I needed to completely deal with my diabetes in private. I’d never check my blood sugar in front of anyone, shots were only given behind closed doors, the juice boxes that I carried everywhere with me we “for when I was thirsty”, and when my sugars were so low that I had to tell someone I felt embarrassed. I hated living with diabetes.
When I was 28 I met my future husband on a dating website. As I read through his profile and found that he was also a type 1 diabetic, I wanted to close his profile and move on. We’d be a total freak show if we both were carrying juice boxes everywhere and taking injections together in restaurants! Something made me write him, and we met and fell head over heels in love.
There are and were so many things I love about him –
But the connection we instantly had because we just “got” each other was amazingly refreshing. It was something I didn’t even know how much I needed. Having Chad by my side has allowed me to fully embrace my diabetes and to be proud of the person it has formed me into.
It’s allowed me not to worry what others may think when I’m profusely sweating and my hands are shaking while I treat a low. Not to feel badly when I feel awful and grumpy from a high. And it’s given me a real sense of peace knowing that if I was ever to be in a dangerous situation, he would know how to care for me better than anyone else.
Together, we hear our blood sugars and take/give injections and I honestly don’t care who sees or what they think! I’m thankful to have my partner in life be someone who is also my partner in this small Type 1 Diabetes community we’re both a part of. God knew what he was doing when he crossed our paths and I’m so thankful that he did.
Find someone (it doesn’t have to be a spouse) who you can tackle every day with. There’s strength and courage found in numbers and we all know the importance of both strength and courage in diabetes.
