Day 11-

To laugh, to joke, to giggle… They say laughter is the best medicine and I truly believe this is true. So today I am going to talk about humor. As you have been reading these you are realizing how dire, serious, and exhausting T1D can be, and we haven’t even gotten to the worst parts yet and I haven’t even been including all of it, you all have been getting the shortened versions. Yes, really. One of the ways we cope is making jokes about our situations.. for instance I have a coffee mug that says, “I run on coffee and insulin” I also have a shirt that says “I shoot up to avoid getting high”, I think these are hilarious, and it is totally true. I know it might make some that are unfamiliar with T1D uncomfortable, but if we are laughing you are totally allowed to laugh. See this is our reality 24/7 so to survive mentally we with T1D have to be able to make light of this horrible suck-ass disease, because this disease makes life so real all the time. So our humor might be a little dark, but so is this disease. This concept applies to anyone with a serious disease, if they are joking about it, listen and laugh with them. We need it sometimes and we need the support, because it can be very, very lonely. Now, I want you to understand that jokes ABOUT diabetes that may be on, let’s say, SNL are NOT FUNNY. Not only are they usually TOTALLY INACCURATE, they hurt. Remember there are people of all ages with T1D, babies, kids, pre teens, teens, young adults, adults, seniors, and we are all tired of the jokes. Well maybe not the babies, but if they understood they would be. Recently Jimmy Kimmel joked about donuts received from Kelli Ripa giving him diabetes. I am pretty good-natured about stuff, but dude, really. It is a stupid joke and he is supposed to be smarter than that, I mean he should be able to think of something funnier. So I challenged him to be a T1D for a day. Wear a pump, (they can be filled with saline), count carbs, check your BG, and I don’t think he would make it. Yes, I really did challenge him. The point is, as a culture generally we don’t make fun of those with a disability. You don’t hear someone making fun of a quadriplegic, because that is seriously wrong and horrible. Just because T1Ds look like we are health and OK doesn’t mean you can make fun of us. Yes, I totally understand most of the time they mean to poke fun at T2D and that commercial where the guy is saying “Diiiiabeetus” is horrible and slightly funny in a wrong way, but it doesn’t make it ok for celebrities to make fun of either T1D or T2D, Both diseases are hard folks and news flash, both can kill you. So, a refresher, a T1D joking about their daily struggle, it is ok to laugh. A celebrity making inaccurate jokes about the disease, NOT OK.