Wow. That's All I Have to Say -- Wow

Wow, indeed! Are they trying to say that a person with Type 1 shouldn’t (or couldn’t) perform the duties expected of a Prime Minister? What exactly does having Type 1 have to do with being a Prime Minister? They could have just as easily said “Will a woman with size 39.5 shoes be the next UK Prime Minister?” because her shoe size has just about as much to do with being Prime Minister as her having Type 1 does.

People can be so stupid sometimes…

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Well as you know, a person with type 1 couldn’t possibly be in a position of responsibility or authority.

Fascinating. I didn’t react that way to it at all. The message I got reading it was, “Hurrah!”, with a sound of broken glass in the background.

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While I followed the Brexit news recently, I was unaware of Theresa May’s T1D status. Good for her! I probably would not agree with her politics but I’m happy to see someone succeed while overcoming all the obstacles that T!D can represent.

During the last few weeks, I’ve also become aware of another woman T1D, succeeding in her career and life as Flight Controller of the International Space Station. While experiencing T1D firsthand has allowed me to appreciate career accomplishment in the face of everything that T1D can throw at you, I’m even more impressed with a woman overcoming cultural gender bias.

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It’s great that she may be the next Prime Minister. However, I can totally relate to your point. Every. single. article. I see about people who are blind in the news is like this. “Blind person volunteers!” “Blind student graduates!” “Blind person invents something!” “Blind person travels!” I’ll know that the world has changed for the better once I see an article about a person who’s blind that doesn’t mention that they’re blind in the headline, especially when their blindness has nothing to do with their accomplishment or when their accomplishment is something average like a student graduating. No wonder people think that we’re all virtually helpless…

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My point is that a barrier appears to have fallen. I do see the contrary point of view—really! But my reason for bringing this up was not to draw attention to the discriminatory attitudes—as if it were even possible to forget or overlook them(!)—but rather to the fact that they have lost a little bit of their power. From where I sit, this glass is half full.

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I guess I agree with @rgcainmd in that I don’t see what having Type 1 has to do with becoming Prime Minister. I mean, I’m not saying it’s easy, but it would be a tough road for anyone! I can see how being an Olympic athlete would present barriers to those with Type 1 compared to other athletes, because diabetes directly interferes with exercise. What barriers do those with Type 1 have in politics compared to others?

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None… I actually find the whole thing mildly insulting as it basically implies that someone with diabetes would somehow assumed to be less competent, or capable, or worthy of responsibility or sound judgement or leadsrship just because they have a blood sugar disorder? If that’s not the underlying assumption, then what is this story about? Why is it even relevant to her position in British politics?

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I think we need to keep in mind that the link was to the Insulin Nation post, which would clearly have a bias toward highlighting her T1. A more in-depth article from a couple years ago linked to in the blog post treated it almost as a footnote toward the end:

When May was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two years ago, the initial shock (“She was someone who never got ill,” says an aide, “so she was quite upset because it made her feel vulnerable”) was rapidly replaced by her customary pragmatism.

And remember, Justice Sotomayor has been dealing with T1 since she was a child – absolutely no barrier for her!

I wouldn’t say “barriers” so much as challenges she’s definitely going to have to deal with more than your typical T1D patient. I don’t think they’ll impact her ability to do her job, but I do think her job could make taking care of herself more challenging.

Given how much stress can interfere with blood sugar control, she’s in for a doozy whilst dealing with the chaos of the Brexit situation.

I know I’ve seen a lot of people talk about having problems with blood sugar control when traveling due to having to change the timing of their insulin doses. The job of PM may require even more travel than she’s already engaged in, possibly across more timezones than she has in the past on a more frequent basis.

Politics, and being Prime Minister will also likely mean more social events and meals, often at non-standard times from her “usual” schedule (if she’s even able to keep any sort of “usual” schedule" with the long, unpredictable hours the job may require), and often catered with no choice in what she’s given to eat, I’d wager.

I don’t think anyone is saying she can’t, or shouldn’t do the job (yet). The article even specifically said that so far no one has made an issue of it. The article specifically states that she has a good reputation, and has made a good impression. Like rgcainmd said, her having T1D doesn’t really have anything to do with her being Prime Minister.

Something to keep in mind is context and audience: the article is on insulinnation.com - it’s written for an audience of other T1D patients who may be interested in the accomplishments of other T1Ds. A blog that focuses on T1D wouldn’t write about this woman if she DIDN’T have T1D as general politics doesn’t seem to be part of their usual content.

This is true, and I didn’t really take it into account.

I just generally don’t like “inspirational” articles about people with disabilities (or, in this case, chronic conditions) because the underlying message seems to be that whatever they’re doing is amazing, and I’m sick of normal accomplishments being called amazing for people with disabilities (or chronic conditions) when they’re considered nothing special for so-called “normal” people.

It’s true she’ll face challenges because of her diabetes, but most of them seem similar to the types of challenges we all face every day when dealing with diabetes and managing our blood sugar.

Hopefully having someone with Type 1 diabetes in a high-ranking leadership position will have some positive impacts on policymaking for people with Type 1 diabetes and other health concerns in the UK.

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I don’t mind highlighting that someone successful has diabetes. Think of those recently diagnosed with diabetes who pretty much think their life has come to an end. I find articles like this very uplifting and help me understand that “yes” there is life after being diagnosed with D. Remember it wasn’t all that long ago that we weren’t expected to live much past 40 or if we did we would be a double amputee in kidney failure. A lot people still don’t understand all the advances that have been made in the treatment and management of D and that we will live full productive lives.

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