Bittersweet Life with T1D, One Drawing at a Time…
There’s no easy way to explain life with Type 1 Diabetes. Constant highs, lows, injections, sensor changes, errors, and the dozens of factors that affect every meal. It’s never only about carbohydrates. Keeping blood sugars in range 24/7 is basically impossible, yet we do it every single day.
No one sees it, but my brain is always wired to detect, calculate, and survive. Without a working pancreas, I have to do its job with numbers. A “free” life becomes tied to math, syringes, sensors, and pumps.
Type 1 is not a lifestyle disease but an autoimmune condition with no cure. No diet or alternative remedy will fix it. Without insulin, I won’t live. Technology helps, but it also makes me heavily dependent on medical supplies.
Still, my motto is to live life fully. I’ve worked through meetings and daily tasks with high or low blood sugars, pretending to be fine. Over time it wears you down, hypo unawareness and exhaustion set in, and complications can appear.
I try not to let it define me, but the pain hits hardest when I see fellow T1Ds struggling. It’s like looking in a mirror. Friends and family can’t always get the balance right between empathy and space, and that’s okay. Loving me means getting T1D for free.
Drawing has become my outlet. Last year I started classes to express myself and ended up turning the everyday chaos of Type 1 mostly ‘the alarms, the math, the surprise rollercoasters’ into playful but realistic comic illustrations. A bit of sarcasm helps too. So here it is; one drawing at a time.
I also grew up with Pippi Longstocking: strong, independent and stubborn. Her fearless spirit still guides me:
“I have never done it before and that’s why I think I can.”
Diagnosed in 1993, I started with insulin pens and later switched to a pump. I work hard to manage it, but my blood sugars still swing unpredictably. I’m also hypo unaware and have survived several scary comas, always at night, while sleeping.
I’m quite introverted by nature, with an intense focus that makes me lose track of time and sometimes even forget to eat. That combination isn’t ideal with Type 1 diabetes, but it’s how I’m wired.
I also grew up with Pippi Longstocking: strong, independent and stubborn. Her fearless spirit still guides me:
“I have never done it before and that’s why I think I can.”
