Thursday 21 October 2010

Because I’m worth it!

I will take care of my health because I’m worth it!

I took the best care of my diabetes when I was pregnant with both of my children. And I continue to do it now because my children need me.

It got me thinking about why I didn’t put as much effort into my health before I had children?

Did I believe that I wasn’t worth it?

Is that what most of us believe most of the time? Is that why there are so many people with diabetes who don’t manage it well?

Today, I’m going to start to take care of my health for me. I’m going to tell myself every day from today that I AM worth it. I’m going to spend as much time looking after the inside as I do on the outside; this is pertinent because I just got a fab new haircut that I spent time & money on :-) 

I’m going to start telling my health care professionals that I’m worth looking after too. If they start thinking that I’m going to spend time on improving my health maybe they will invest more time in me?

What’s more I’m going to tell everyone I know who has diabetes that they are worth it too. Let’s take a health lesson from L’Oreal. ;-)

Wednesday 13 October 2010

How much money can you raise for Diabetes?

Every week, I buy the local paper and try to keep up with events and news around me. Every week, I notice all the sponsored walks, cycles, swims, etc. organized to raise money for charity. I notice all the photos of people exchanging very large cheques too.

I know they are all deserving causes but why does my cause not feature as much in peoples’ minds? We rarely see people raising money for diabetes. I’ve been trying to figure out why.

At first, I thought it was because those other charities were about saving lives. But diabetes has the potential to ruin and end a life too; so it can’t be that.

But maybe people who do not have diabetes aren’t aware that diabetes can ruin a life? This could be possible.

Maybe, it’s because people without diabetes don’t know anyone with diabetes? This has to be impossible because it’s estimated that 200,000 people in Ireland have diabetes.

Or maybe people who don’t have diabetes don’t advocate for people with it because they feel it’s a self-inflicted disease? But nobody asks for diabetes, especially not small babies. Surely this isn’t the reason?

Or maybe, it’s because diabetes is one of the few diseases out there where the emphasis is on “self-care”, and maybe that extends to raising the much needed funds ourselves???

Whatever the reasons people do not think to raise money for diabetes might be; I can’t help feeling sad about them. I form pictures in my head of the faces of diabetes; the small babies, the children, the teenagers trying to fit in, the adults just getting on with their lives and those adults getting old, living in fear of developing a complication of diabetes.

That’s what it is! A lot of us blend in too well and we pretend that we don’t need any help and therefore we don’t ask people for money. So how do I fix this?