Wednesday 10 August 2016

Diabetes is like a pair of new shoes

Diabetes is like a pair of new shoes

Strutting up and down the shop floor looking at the new shoes on my feet, I convince myself these are the comfiest shoes Ive ever worn - plus they are in the sale how can I resist!? 

In the first week there is a lot to learn - how to walk in these new shoes/ how to manage your diabetes - where you need the blister plasters/what needs adjusting with your daily diabetes routine. But you'll make mistakes and sometimes loose your balance in your new shoes and the same goes for your diabetes! Face fears, stumble and sometimes scrape your knees. Nobody is perfect.

After a while of wearing my new shoes my feet begin to hurt from the constant rubbing and tearing at my feet - like the constant toll of living with diabetes. Except I can't take off my high heels and change into flats when diabetes takes its toll on me. There's no pressure that can be relieved by a pair of comfy flip flops on a way home from a night out with type 1!

Sometimes you just have to fight it.

After a while the new shoes become worn. Shoved to the back of the cupboard and to be worn as a last resort. How burnout feels with diabetes. Sometimes I want to shove diabetes into a shoebox in my wardrobe! You want to not have to think about diabetes for a while and like a pair of new shoes the implications of buying them. The long term cost. 

Like a pair of new slippers diabetes can't be taken off before getting into bed for a good nights sleep. Diabetes never sleeps.

Like a pair of wellies we have to strive through the muddy and hope for a few dry days.

And like a pair of new shoes - we have to carry on no matter how much pain we sometimes feel. 




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