November of 2011 is very memorable. Hurricane Irene hit my town hard, my house lost power, and school was closed for a little over a week. I was a sophomore in high school at the time, and one of the top runners on the cross-country team. Throughout the season, I drank a lot of fluids in order to stay hydrated, and to perform to the best of my ability. As a result I didn’t see anything wrong with my everlasting thirst, and constant need to urinate. “On your marks, BANG,” as the gun went off the six other members of the cross-country team and myself were running the last race of the 2011 season. All was well, until I felt a stabbing pain in my groin; I had to stop the race short, and went to an orthopedist in order to figure out what had happened. November 21, 2011: my half birthday…it started off with a memorable trip to the orthopedist I was told that I was going to need to take a couple months off in order for my groin to heal. Low and behold, no one knew what was wrong with me, and it was a mystery to all. Heart breaking news as running was my life, and I couldn’t see myself without it. I wanted to run winter track but that wasn’t going to happen. Would I be able to run spring track? Is this pain ever going to go away? Why me? Little did I know, but that was just the beginning of my disappointment. November 21, 2011: later that evening… it was time for a check up with my pediatrician, and as soon as she went into the room she asked me a question that was going to change my life forever. “Have you been thirsty?” I had no clue how she had known but apparently my urine test detected traceable sugar in it, and off to the ER I went. November 21, 2011: the day I was diagnosed with diabetes. A bunch of thoughts were running (I mean I am a runner) through my mind. Aside from the thought that this can’t be happening to me, I was also thinking about how I was not overweight so how could it be possible? Well, diabetes isn’t that simple. Heck if it was that simple I wouldn’t be writing about it right now. Wait, so you have diabetes? 1.Are you allowed to eat that?
Misconceptions about diabetes are not just common, but they are very understandable. People are not educated about diabetes and the different types associated with it. The main source of education is from friends who have the disease, television/movies, and family members. My goal is to help educate anyone interested in learning more about diabetes, and end misconceptions for good. I hope this post has helped enlighten you more on common misconceptions that I have noticed, and my personal experience from my diagnosis. -The DiaRunner
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JacobMarathoner, diabetes advocate, college graduate, Certified Athletic Trainer Archives
December 2020
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