O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D!
When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes twenty-five years ago, I felt O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D! And that feeling lasted for a very long time. My family supported me to the best of their abilities and understanding, but so much of what I was experiencing seemed too surreal to explain to anyone not living with the reality I was facing.
"I felt it in my heart."
And I cried often. Tears of sadness.
Fast forward many years...
It took me almost twenty years to feel truly comfortable in my skin as a person living with diabetes. That is something I still find hard to explain: how is it even possible to take twenty years to finally find comfort? The answer is simple: community. That is what flipped the switch for me.
Covid had negative impacts in many ways. But strangely enough, it was during the pandemic that I became part of the diabetes online community. Ironic as it may seem, at a time when people were no longer allowed to meet up and spend time face to face, I found my tribe!
Bored at home due to lockdown and not knowing how to process the reality of Covid, I turned to social media and joined many global diabetes-related Facebook groups. At first, I just lurked in the background to see what others were sharing.
Then something shifted.
I realised that the topics of discussion were focused on the same things I was experiencing, and it made me feel less isolated. Slowly but surely, I started sharing about my life with T1D, too, and it was heartwarming to see that others also related to my realities.
Social media became a happy place for me.
A place where I felt understood.
Fast forward some more...
In 2023, I learned about the #dedoc° scholarship program through fellow diabetes advocates from South Africa. It seemed like such a faraway dream to travel from South Africa to another country and meet up with other people also living with T1D. It didn't even seem real at the time.
Still, I applied for a scholarship (without really knowing what I was doing) and received a virtual scholarship for #ATTD 2024. I was so excited and loved every minute of attending the conference online.
After that, I applied for #ISPAD2024 and received a scholarship to attend the conference in Portugal, in person. Not only was it my first time travelling across the ocean to another part of the world, but for the first time ever, I had the opportunity to enjoy face to face contact with others also living with T1D on an international platform.
O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D!
More recently, I received another in-person scholarship, this time, to attend the IDF World Diabetes Congress 2025 in Bangkok. When I heard the news, I asked my husband to pinch me because it didn't seem real.
Fast forward to today...
There were countless times during the IDF World Diabetes Congress when I found myself thinking:
“Is this really happening?”
Sitting in a room full of experts, talking about T1D innovation and research, being able to listen and learn.
Engaging with new people also living with T1D and learning about their realities.
Hooking up with friends from a previous conference or online meetings, face to face, being able to hug one another.
Sharing my own lived experience.
Showing that traveling with T1D is not taboo.
Being part of a community who openly and wholeheartedly supports one another.
The list could go on and on. And this list too:
I feel happy.
I feel satisfied.
And I feel privileged
And here I am, again feeling O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D! Only this time in the absolute opposite way from twenty-five years ago. I’m in awe of the fact that one word can hold two completely different feelings!
I still feel it in deeply my heart. And I still often cry. But now they are tears of joy.
My favorite pastime is scrolling through my phone's camera roll, looking back at amazing times, each photo bursting with memories.
I love feeling O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D! right now.
And I can't wait to #PayItForward in as many ways as possible!
Written by Lurina Fourie, the Glucose Glitch
