Being a Type 1 diabetic is a funny thing because it never becomes routine, no matter how long you’ve had it. I’ve been diabetic for over two decades, and every new chapter in life brings new challenges.
High school: a school cafeteria where I can buy any food I want?! College: I can stay out as late as I want and sleep in until noon without my parents telling me to get up and test my blood sugar!? Law school: wow, studying for hours on end really does lower your blood sugar. Finally I graduated. I am an attorney, striking out on the beginning of an amazing career! Wait, hold on, new schedule, new life, new control issues.
The learning curve has been steep for me in trying to quickly take care of a low blood sugar right before an important meeting (I have never devoured a Snickers bar so quickly) or trying to draft a memo on a tight deadline while also experiencing symptoms of a high blood sugar (hopefully the memo didn’t reflect a tired and grouchy author).
Learning to respond to work demands and take care of diabetes is not at all the more cushy environment I experienced in college and law school, where I could – for the most part – eat what I wanted, on my schedule. My schools generally went out of their way to provide testing accommodations and extra time for assignments as needed. Nowadays, if a client needs me to work through dinner time, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room to say no without looking like a slacker.
All these issues can be worked around, as I’m learning, but having people who can relate to them, and maybe even have tips on how to handle them, is invaluable. Dishing over drinks about work, life and being diabetic with other diabetics who have similar work demands and interests seemed like the perfect solution to my steep learning curve. Thus, the idea of a T1 Young Professionals Happy Hour was born!
And of course, getting together with new friends and having drinks is a great way to end the work day, diabetic or not.
The next meeting of the T1 Young Professionals Group is Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 p.m. at The Cosmopolitan (121 Spear St., between Mission and Howard) in San Francisco. I hope to see you there!
For more information, please visit, curetype1.org/outreach-events.html.
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