Awkward T1D Moments

Well, that was awkward...

I can't tell you how many times I've been put into an awkward situation because of my diabetes. However, I can tell you that it has happened way more times than I would like. What's life without a little awkwardness thrown in, right? Anyways, here are a few awkward moments that I've experienced so far. Enjoy!

Scenario One: I was in high school so everything about my being was awkward anyways, but let's add being type one diabetic on top of it all. I can remember one day as I was walking up the stairs between class periods, my pump tubing got caught on the hand railing. So, after taking about two steps, I get pulled to a painful stop on the staircase. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Except I forgot to mention that I was surrounded by other people that were also in the stairwell trying to get to class. To make it even worse, there was a line of people behind me trying to get up the stairs that I had to awkwardly push past, staying right against the railing, to get back to the bottom to unhook myself. I pretty much kept my head down the rest of the day.

Scenario Two: Once again, I was in high school so this is obviously going to be awkward. I was in a Wind Ensemble rehearsal a day before a concert when I can feel that my blood sugar is low. For some reason that I can’t remember anymore, I was too embarrassed to tell my director that my blood sugar was low and that I needed to leave and take care of it. So instead, stupid high school me just asked my director if I could go to the restroom. By the time I actually left rehearsal and checked my blood sugar, it was dangerously low. I believe somewhere in the thirties if I remember correctly. Since it was so low, it took a little longer for it to come back into the normal range again and for me to stop shaking. So, after eating glucose tablets, getting a juice box from my stuff in the office, and buying a Poptart from the cafeteria, I had to have been gone at least twenty minutes. As I’m walking back into rehearsal, I realize that everyone thinks that I've been in the bathroom this whole time. A twenty minute long trip to the restroom is definitely awkward.

Scenario Three: Dating with type one diabetes. In all honesty, I don’t have much experience with this, but I can only all of the awkwardness that would occur. The initial conversation of telling your date that you have type one diabetes, or not telling them and going low while on a date; it all makes me feel awkward just thinking about it. Hopefully with the right person, it won’t be awkward though. I'll have to update everyone on the severity of awkwardness if it ever happens.

Scenarios Four: I joined a sorority my very first semester at college, and I've been in love with it ever since. However, being type one diabetic throws a slight curve into things, once again. All of my sisters are very accepting, understanding, and willing to learn about T1D to support me; however, sometimes simply being diabetic is enough to be awkward. During initiation into my sorority, we have a beautiful ceremony and all of the sister are there to watch the new members finally become active members. During this ceremony, no cell phones are allowed. Well, silly me, I forgot that my doctor had set alarms on my pump to remind me to take insulin at certain times of the day around meal times. We were in the middle of initiation when I not only felt, but very loudly heard my pump start vibrating from inside my bra where it was hooked while I was wearing a dress. It felt like every just slowly turned and looked directly at me. I was mortified.

I can guarantee that I have suffered through so many more awkward moments than these four, but I simply do not have enough time to type them all out. Awkward moments happen to everyone, so don't be too embarrassed next time something awkward happens to you, even if it was a result of your diabetes. Life will go on and you will live long enough to suffer through even more awkward moments.