We look like healthy people,
But what you don’t see is that we need to count every carb, every dose,
and think about the 42 other factors that might influence one meal at a time.
We do this every day, every hour and sometimes every second.
We’re navigators of our own internal storms: calculating, adjusting, and rolling with whatever the day brings.
Our brains are wired to detect, to feel, to manage, to do simply to survive one day at a time!
A “free” life is tied to numbers and one undeniable truth: without insulin, we won’t live.
People once saw only syringes and needles;
now they see sensors on arms and insulin pumps attached to our bodies.
The technological cure keeps us alive but also makes us dependent on medical supplies.
There’s a price for the life we lead.
Others sometimes worry about us but they also want us to succeed.
So we keep balancing on a thin line all the time.
Luckily, we love to live, to enjoy and to be appreciated for the effort it takes for us to just be!
We’re mostly thankful
Especially when we’re lucky enough to live in a country where insulin and other supplies are free.
But if that’s not the case, survival becomes hardcore.
At the end of each day, we love life as much as anyone else and keep fighting for it, 24/7.
These comics reflect the thoughts often unseen by the outside world.
They tell the story of the ups and downs of living with type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune challenges.
I’m not an artist — maybe I am in my inner world — but I never had the chance to show my thoughts until now.
At age 57, I wanted to put things into perspective, to tell my story, because every story deserves to be told.
I hope others will enjoy reading it. So, welcome to my world — it may not be unique, but it matters, because we count too.