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Monday, May 9, 2011

D-Blog Week: Admiration and Inspiration

For me one of the best things about the DOC is the encouragement and inspiration it offers. Even when you don't realize you're doing it, some of you bloggers offer so much to buffer my hope and my spirit. As a community I learn a lot from all the Type 2's, parents of PWD and adults with LADA. It's been so nice to hear other perspectives and hear other's stories.

I know that today we are supposed to pick a group of bloggers with a totally different perspective and tell why we admire them and how they inspire us. But as much as I've learned from bloggers with T2 or LADA or spouses/parents of PWD, it wouldn't come close to how much I've learned from or been inspired by other bloggers with Type 1 diabetes. These T1's have shown me how much we can really accomplish. When I've thought I was the only person struggling with something, they've shown me I wasn't alone. When I thought I'd found a diabetes-related hurdle that I couldn't overcome, they've proved me wrong.

And even though we share the same form of diabetes, the T1 bloggers who inspire me the most are the ones who've done things that I aspire to do. Not just done them but done them well. Truly excelled. It's so inspiring to be able to look a few steps ahead and see how other T1's have prepared for or dealt with life's challenges. Pregnancy, for example, is something that I was really looking forward to in life but was very scared to endure because of my diabetes. But it was amazing to follow other bloggers' journeys and see the ups and downs and witness them come out on the other side as healthy moms of healthy babies. Even though I knew it could be done, following these bloggers showed me it could be done. Proved that it could be done well, not with results that were okay for a diabetic but with results that were great even for a non-diabetic! It also showed me that there could be bumps along the way, a bad blood sugar here or there, and that there could still be a happy, healthy ending.

And now that I'm a mom, it's so wonderful to follow the journey's of other new-mom T1's. How are they handling their blood sugars and their babies at the same time? Are they packing their meters in with the diapers? Is breastfeeding making their blood sugars go crazy too? It's so nice to have such a wealth of inspiration and information from other T1's who are going through the same things I am, just to know that it can be done!

4 comments:

  1. Hi Layne - I agree! The T1 pregnancy blogs have been a huuuuuuge inspiration for me - yours included :) Now I'm following along in your footsteps with the new parenting thing... And in answer to your question - oh, yes, the breast-feeding is definitely playing havoc with my blood sugars. So much of d-management is about being proactive, and yet once you're feeding a baby who doesn't have a schedule or know when it's convenient to be hungry suddenly proactive goes out of the window!

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  2. Hey Layne - great post! You're absolutely right, in finding those voices out there of fellow PWD but how their different situations and perspectives can help us learn and appreciate and apply to our own. Everyone's got a great perspective and they are all valuable. Thank you for sharing yours here!

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  3. I cannot even imagine pregnant with d. You are inspirational!

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  4. This is so beautiful and true! You really do inspire me too. I am looking forward to being a mom, and having the DOC along the way to help! Thank you!!

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