Just got back from my first Hope and Health Type 1 Diabetes Symposium sponsored by the JDRF. It was awesome and I was inspired to start blogging again. I find that writing about my experience today will be too long on one post so I will start with this:
I’m sorry it’s blurry, I had my Dad take the picture. He said that his hand was shaking when he took the picture. Maybe being around such a beautiful celebrity made him nervous, who knows, but bless his heart!
Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999 is a Type 1 Diabetic. She spoke at the symposium today and discussed some great topics like making sure to stay on the optimistic side of the street, the importance of building a strong support system for the days that Type 1 Diabetes gets us down, and coined a term for the loved ones who support and cheer on their Person with Diabetes (PWD). They are known as Type 3s.
She also talked about her D-Day, the day she was diagnosed at the age of 19. She was urged to drop out of school, to move home with mom and dad, pick a calm and easy career (not journalism like she wanted), and to not even think about becoming a mother. Oh, and by the way, maybe pageant competition isn’t such a good idea.
So, what has she been doing since that diagnosis day? A whole lot of, “Oh yea? Watch me!” She has since earned multiple college degrees including a PhD. Nicole did have a career in journalism and now she works as a spokesperson and motivational speaker-a carreer I wouldn’t call calm. She also enjoys being a mother to a healthy 8 year old girl. Oh, and did I mention, she was crowned Miss America in 1999!
Knowing what my life has become and all the things I’ve been able to do in just the year and a half that I’ve been a Type 1 Diabetic, I find it silly what this woman was told. Its bad enough what ends our minds go to when we first get diagnosed without any outside influences. Total and utter B.S….and I don’t mean blood sugar this time.
How grateful am I that I had the opportunity to hear this beautiful, brave, and strong woman speak. I hope to be like her when I grow up.
Cut the B.S…I mean blood sugar!
Arlene
Have you ever been told you couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t do something that you found silly? What was it and how did you respond? Leave us a comment.
Cut the B.S. 