Type 10 Diabetics
I live with a type 10 diabetic. It is an awful disease. It is typified by worry, sleepless nights, concern for meters and tablets and apple juice and supplies and highs and lows and everything in between. Type 10’s are concerned for pills, and vials and syringes and pumps and belt clips, diets, boxes and supplies and probably many more things..
Do you live with a type 10 diabetic? I imagine most of us do. My wife is my type 10 diabetic. She was never diagnosed with the disease, but she surely has it. She is my partner in caring for and dealing with diabetes. Her efforts are evaluated as much by my A1C as are my efforts.
Now I do not want to shift responsibility here. We who are adults are all responsible for our own disease. We have to be very careful to not shift this burden just because we have a type 10 by our side. It is after all my disease and my concern. But in a way it is also a shared disease.
The second thing is not every one has a type 10 diabetic to help us out. There are plenty of people who live alone who get through life quite well. They act as their own type 10 diabetic. They not only have the disease, but they are also their one and only caregiver. I admire these people. Because After 36 years, I would be hard pressed to make it without my type 10.
My type 10 joined me on some unspecified day before we were married. At some point in our relationship, before we were married, I needed help and on that day she was asked to be a type 10. Of course she stepped up but more important she learned and that learning kept going all through those 36 years of marriage and 14 or 15 months of dating.
So what makes for a good type 10? First they have to care, no one can be a good type 10 unless they eventually adopt the same, and in many cases more, concern for your health. Second they have to be willing to learn along with us. No one knows it all and most of us, do not know enough about our disease. Finally, they need some adventurous spirit. There is nothing more adventurous than planning a day long beach excursion with a type 1 diabetic.
Which brings me to the point of why I call my wife a type 10 diabetic, I just multiplied my type by ten. You may live with a type 20 or type 15 diabetic; they are all pretty much the same. They are our spouses, partners, parents, siblings and friends. We have to thank them for what they do with us and for us. When my wife and I got married she married a disease as well as a person. Many of you might have partners who came into their partnership in care not by marriage but later in life, something that came long after we met and decided to be together.
When I was diagnosed my type 10 was also a type 1, my mother. She took her position like all parents take their position, not because they want it, rather because they have a child to raise. In my case my mother was my type 10 for a mere 2+ years before she gave up her role. Some of us have parents who are type 10 for 20+ years before we are handed off.
It really doesn’t matter if they are a type 10 or 15 or 20. It does not matter if they live with us or across the street or across the country. We need to celebrate them, remember them, and most important thank them. I know I would never have made it this far without my type 10 and I am very thankful. I hope you are as well.
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Rick