It's no secret that, at least in the past, I have been very open about my diabetes and the treatments I'm on. I have injected openly in front of co-workers, family and friends; proudly displayed my insulin pump; and told almost anyone who will listen that I have diabetes.
However, I'm starting to put the wraps on that. I'm not ashamed of anything, I'm actually pretty tired of misinformed people and of trying to explain the difference between type 1 and type 2. I do enjoy setting people right (just ask The Mr.!), but I don't want diabetes to be any more of a focus than it already is.
I may be naive, but I believe that my friends, family and co-workers who knew me before diabetes don't see me any differently. I don't believe they take pity on me, I believe they see the same strengths in me--and hopefully more--that they saw before I outted myself to them.
But new people, people who only know the Michelle with diabetes, may not have that same non-judgmental view. These are the people I've decided to hide from. OK, not hide in the traditional sense, but hide in the sense that diabetes will not be revealed as haphazardly as it has been in the past.
This morning, one of my Diabetic Mommy sisters reminded us that people with diabetes are not covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which means we are not protected against job discrimination. A bill to close that loophole was being voted on today.
I'm not really sure why this message hit me the way it did today, but this non-protectionist state that we're lingering in right now is actually pretty scary.





