Three

This is a little interruption in my endless narrative of trying to get into the Italian health care system, because it's a big day for me.

Today is my Diaversary.  Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.  It's been three years of hopes and fears, finger sticks and shots, lots of medication and insulin, broken equipment and a broken pancreas.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel here.  There have been lots of amazing blog posts by others out there with diabetes about what their diaversary means to them.  I've even had a look back at my previous two diaversary posts and it was really interesting to read what I was feeling back then.

This pretty much sums us up (photo credit: BL Enterprises)

This year, when I've explained to a few friends why I'm marking this day, I've told them I'm not celebrating having the disease.  I'm celebrating the fact that I'm alive, that I've made it through another year living with this illness.  That it has brought me an enormous amount of stress, and does so every. single. day., and yet I'm still kicking.

Diabetes takes a toll on nearly every aspect of my life: my wallet, planning for the future, my sleep, my anxiety levels, my brain function (high OR low), my relationships with people, what I eat, and on and on and on.

But I'm here.  We are making it work.  I have the support of my amazing husband.

My diaversary tends to make me wistful rather than celebratory, but I'm still taking this day to look back on my life with diabetes.  I'm taking the day off work, running an errand, going out to lunch with Nick, doing a little shopping, and then meeting up with a friend for dinner.  I'm going to celebrate the good things in my life, because there are so many.

And diabetes can't take that away from me.