Rant beginning. Prepare yourself.

Call me sensitive. Say I'm soft. I don't care.

I was having lunch with a new friend today and a friend of hers. Apparently, my diabetes had not been discussed at all before our meeting. This is, in and of itself, a good thing. But.

During lunch, friend of new friend - who works in a local Primary Care Doctor's office processing insurance claims - started into a rant about unhealthy eating, obesity, diabetes, and the havoc that diabetics and the like reak on our healthcare system. Ugh.

Some choice snippets. "Well, I'd like to tell every diabetic out there to get their a** moving, that would rid us of the whole issue, and it would be easier than killing them..." Followed by a giggle fit. And "Obesity is one of the ONLY things that causes diabetes. That. And laziness. Both of those things can be cured." Whaaa??? And finally, "We should tell people with diabetes who think they should get more supplies for their disease, that they wouldn't need medication and supplies if they just took care of themselves." Really???

My friend got increasingly uncomfortable as I fumed, digging through my bag for my testing kit. I layed it out on the table in the shi-shi french brasserie we'd chosen. I proceeded to lance my finger.

"Oh. You have diabetes. Don't you?" Friend of friend says.

"Yes. I do. Type 1. For over 25 years."

"But, you're not fat."

"Yeah, contrary to what you obviously believe, being fat isn't a requirement."

"Oh, well, we certainly got off on the wrong foot."

I didn't respond.

But, yeah, I'd say we got off on the wrong foot.

The rest of the lunch was a quick Diabetes 101 tutorial, though I'm sure not all of it got through. I could sense that friend of friend is a selective listener. When I said "auto-immune and 6%" she responded "Oh, so most people do get it from being fat." Not exactly.

Sometimes, educating is difficult. Sometimes, I feel like it's a total waste of my time and energy. Sometimes, I wonder how in hell someone like this can work in the medical profession and still have NO clue.

And yes, sometimes, I'm sensitive. Because, really, does anyone ask for or deserve to get diabetes? Regardless of our weight, our activity level, our diabetes type, I say no. No one deserves it. And rants like wrong-foot lady's do nothing to improve people's already skewed opinions and thoughts about this disease.

Rant complete. Full Stop.