I Wouldn’t Call Type 1 Diabetes a Blessing in Disguise
If someone offered me a cure today, I’d be in a hospital gown before they could finish the sentence.
Let’s start there.
I don’t want Type 1 diabetes.
I never asked for it.
I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
So no…
I wouldn’t call Type 1 diabetes a blessing in disguise.
But I also wouldn’t say it ruined my life.
I know that probably sounds contradictory.
For me, it isn’t.
For a long time, I lived in denial.
Not the kind of denial where I ignored my diabetes.
I took my insulin.
I counted my carbs.
I checked my blood sugar.
I wore my pump.
I did everything I was supposed to do.
But emotionally?
I kept diabetes at arm’s length.
I was diagnosed at 26 years old.
I didn’t grow up with Type 1 diabetes.
I didn’t know anyone else who had it.
Honestly, I felt like an imposter.
Like I kind of… sort of… had diabetes, but didn’t really belong in the Type 1 community.
Part of me was waiting for someone to tell me there had been a mistake.
That somehow this diagnosis wasn’t really mine.
Looking back, I think I was grieving a life I thought I’d lost.
Eventually, something changed.
Not because diabetes got easier.
It didn’t.
Not because I suddenly decided everything happens for a reason.
I don’t believe that either.
It changed because I stopped waiting for my old life to come back.
This was my life.
I could keep wishing it weren’t true…
or I could learn how to live it well.
That decision changed everything.
Diabetes made me pay attention.
Before I was diagnosed, I never thought much about what was happening inside my body.
Now I do.
I notice how sleep affects my blood sugar.
How stress changes insulin needs.
How hydration impacts performance.
How hormones influence my runs.
How fueling before a marathon affects the miles that come later.
Not because I wanted to become an expert.
Because I had to.
Ironically, that curiosity has made me a better marathon runner.
Not because diabetes is a gift.
But because adapting to it forced me to understand my body in ways I never would have otherwise.
I still hate diabetes.
That hasn’t changed.
If there were a cure tomorrow, I’d take it without hesitation.
But while I have it…
I’m not going to spend every day wishing my story were different.
I’d rather spend that energy writing the next chapter.
I’m still training.
I’m still chasing another Boston Marathon.
I’m still laughing with my family.
I’m still living a life that feels full.
Diabetes comes with me.
It just doesn’t get to decide where I’m going.
Final thoughts
I don’t think Type 1 diabetes is a blessing.
I don’t think it’s a curse that automatically ruins every dream, either.
I think it’s something I carry.
Some days it’s heavy.
Some days it’s frustrating.
Some days it’s exhausting.
But it has never stopped me from believing that a meaningful, adventurous, joyful life is still possible.
I hate that I have Type 1 diabetes.
I just refuse to let it define what’s possible.