Diabetes is not a joke.

Well it happened.

Today someone made a joke about diabetes in my presence. I wish I could say that I handled it perfectly, let it go, offered education, and went about my day. It would be a lie though.

This person joking said “I would rather die from diabetes” and it HURT like I had just been punched in the chest. Because while this person was just joking around and having a good time, they didn’t know that I was within ear shot. They didn’t know that I had watched my child waste away and almost die from diabetes. They didn’t know that a doctor told me that they couldn’t believe my child was laughing on the way to the ER because they should have been in a coma. They didn’t know that we were told it was a miracle we brought them in when we did, because there was a high probability that they wouldn’t have made it through the night. They didn’t know that I almost had to live in a world without my child because of diabetes.

We have been very fortunate in the fact that our friends and family haven’t made these types of comments. Everyone has been very supportive and has seen what my child has gone through, which made me wonder how I would respond in the inevitable instance of an ill mannered joke. And now I know. I very calmly told this person that I didn’t appreciate jokes about diabetes because my child has type one, and it’s not funny. I didn’t make a big stink or berate them. I left it at that and walked away, but this is the part that I didn’t expect….I cried. After confronting the person I found a quite area in my workplace and cried.

Diabetes is a nonstop battle, and while I try not to dwell on it, diabetes is in fact a life or death condition. So why do we make jokes about it? Why is it one of the only medical conditions that is the butt of the joke? Because there is NOTHING funny about diabetes. It’s challenging, stressful, and painful. It is 24/7 365. You don’t get days off. You can’t just say “I don’t feel like dealing with this today” and you can’t give up.

So while I am annoyed with myself for crying over a “joke” I am proud of myself for standing my ground and speaking up. Will this change the world, and make the jokes stop? No. But at least I can say I confronted the moment to do my part to make a positive change for my child.