Maybe I'm seeing the glass as half full, but it feels like we might be in the midst of a shift in cultural narrative about diabetes.
For example, did you notice the way President Obama addressed the fact that his Supreme Court nomination, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, has diabetes? Her diabetes wasn't the story anyone led with, but it also wasn't a fact that was overlooked or ignored. The story line felt pitch perfect to me, that this is a remarkable woman, who has achieved remarkable things in her life, all of which have led to this remarkable moment in history, and by the way, she's done so while having diabetes. The story goes that we can respect her noteworthy accomplishments that much more because of this fact. Diabetes adds to the picture of this person, not subtracts.
Maybe the new story line emerging is one that says that diabetes doesn't make a person less than but rather, it actually makes them remarkable. A plus to all their other accomplishments they have as a human being throughout their lifetime. Maybe what's starting to emerge here is a larger cultural understanding that living well with diabetes is in it's own right, actually one of life's accomplishments worthy of notice and respect.
Now wouldn't that be remarkable!
