[belyro]

I don't want for this to turn into a "non-diabetics say the stupidest things" thread, but I do want to share this experience because I think some of you will be able to identify.

This Christmas I was at my parents' church and was catching up with some of the people I know from back home. One of our old neighbours came up to me and we starting chatting. She's a nurse, and has known me all my life, and helped my parents out immensely in the first few years after my diagnosis. So she asked how things were going with my diabetes. As some of you know, I was diagnosed with proliferative retinopathy this summer and had a number of laser treatments. It was very difficult for me, both physically and emotionally. So I told her that, while things were going alright now, I had had to deal with retinopathy this summer. She looked at me with kind of a "tsk tsk" look, chuckled, and said, "Oooooh....too much cheating eh?" I thought I would THROTTLE her right there in the church. I couldn't believe she could be so insensitive to something that caused me MAJOR grief....and that had NOTHING to do with "cheating". Living with diabetes for 25 years has been a constant challenge (as we all know diabetes is)....and I think I've actually done very well overall. I've had no rebellious years in terms of diabetes care, and have always done the best I could to manage my diabetes while still balancing a "normal" life. The fact that she would insinuate that the fact that my eyes are starting to BLIND THEMSELVES is MY FAULT was like a slap in the face. I was too stunned to have any kind of intelligent remark, so I'm sure she still has no idea what effect her comment had on me. When I told my parents, they were shocked too.

You know, I really REALLY don't expect people who don't have diabetes to understand diabetes....not even people in the medical profession....but I do expect a little bit of respect from people who find out I've experienced (and still am experiencing) medical difficulties. You don't have to understand diabetes to show a little common courtesy.