Informing Others About Diabetes

My husband rarely tells people about his diabetes, but he has learned that some people should know. Everyone who is diabetic should wear a diabetes bracelet or have some type of card or voice alert system to let others know in case of a medical emergency. If possible, the identifier should indicate whether you're type 1 or type 2. My best bet for convincing Brian to keep something is in his wallet so that someone going through it in an emergency may find it.

His boss also knows that he's diabetic, as does his officemate. I think it's important for people to know in case something happens. If people seem interested, he gives them a rough idea of how a diabetic seizure would like, and we've found that people are very understanding of his medical needs once he lets them know what is going on.

Of course, everyone in our families know what to expect if something ever should happen to him. As soon as our son is old enough, he will know how to dial 911. He's only one, so obviously he's too little now. We will tell him early about the diabetes and about what to do if Daddy passes out. We just have to determine the gentlest way to tell him as we do not want him to be afraid of the illness.

My husband keeps a testing kit at my parents' house and at his parents' house. Because we live much closer to his family, he also keeps a NovoLog pen there. He wants to be able to live his life and not have to panic if he forgets to bring his insulin. Retaining normalcy is very important for Brian, as he wants to run his life and not have his diabetes do it for him.

Finally, I know all about what diabetes can do. The first couple of times he had lows during the night, I was terrified. I remember being very angry at him with the first low he had after I got pregnant. Lows can - and should - be avoided. He has them every three or four months, so they're not common now. I know from the thrashing around he does that I should wake him and help him get to the kitchen. Although he thinks it's unnecessary, I always stay with him a few minutes because I don't want him to pass out after I leave.

Dealing with diabetes does mean knowing who to tell and how much to tell them. When Brian first got the disease, he wanted absolutely no one to know. Now he's lightening up. After all, he's okay with this blog and reads it on occasion. That's a huge step for him.