Home Uncategorized How a hasty Facebook post became a lesson in understanding diabetes | Doreen Christensen – Sun Sentinel

How a hasty Facebook post became a lesson in understanding diabetes | Doreen Christensen – Sun Sentinel

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I’m sorry you have diabetes. I’m sorry your child has diabetes.

I’m sorry my uninformed opinion — about a man in a restaurant who was checking his blood sugar and administering life-saving insulin before his meal — was hurtful. I was unaware. I was not being intentionally hateful.

I’m repenting for my mistake by using what happened as a teaching moment to help raise awareness about this cruel disease, as many on Twitter hoped I would. Please know, I wasn’t intentionally trying to perpetuate misinformation. Please understand, my views reflected a lack of understanding about this incurable disease. That is why my comment struck a nerve and went viral. I offer my sincere and heartfelt apology.

I’m sorry I didn’t understand anything about Type 1 diabetes (T1D), which often occurs in children. Those with diabetes have a pancreas that does not make enough insulin. Blood testing, oral medications and injections become a way of life. Forever. I did know about Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, because some of my friends and family have it.

I’m sorry I was woefully uninformed about what people living with diabetes go though, especially those with T1D, to stay alive. I’ve learned some must check blood sugar multiple times a day, and calculate correct doses of insulin based on carbs immediately before eating. I didn’t know that. I am thankful I don’t have diabetes or have to do that.

I have learned so much. More than 100 million Americans now live with diabetes, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s good news that diabetes in adults has decreased, but sad and discouraging that it is on the rise for children. I can’t image how hard it must be for parents to manage this disease in young children. I’m blessed I don’t have to.

I’m sorry parents have to teach their beautiful children with T1D to endure repeated needle pricks, to have no shame when it comes to testing blood sugar and to learn how to give themselves insulin shots before meals or snacks when in a restaurant, airplane, stadium or any public space. It is your right to manage your condition openly, anywhere, and in any place. “People with diabetes have the right to participate fully in our society without sacrificing their medical safety or facing discrimination because of misunderstandings, fears, and stereotypes about diabetes,” according to the American Diabetes Association.

I’m sorry that, before dashing an off-the-cuff opinion based on an emotional reaction on Let’s Eat South Florida, I didn’t educate myself by visiting the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation at DiabetesResearch.org, the American Association of Diabetes Educators at Diabeteseducator.org, the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov/diabetes, the American Diabetes Foundation at Diabetes.org or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at JDRF.org. Many of these organizations kindly offered to assist and educate me, and I thank them for that. As a journalist, I understand I have a responsibility to the truth, and I take that extremely seriously. But I also have opinions and views as a human, separate from my job. My comments were made in that capacity, a Jane Q. Citizen. But, alas, where does being a journalist begin and end when it comes to these sorts of things? It was not my wish to reflect badly upon my newspaper, colleagues, family or friends. Or, to become an internet pinata. For the record, the Sun Sentinel did not order me to apologize or write this column, nor did it threaten my job.

I’m sorry some people think those with diabetes should test and administer insulin in a public restroom. I did not suggest that, as many incorrectly attributed to me. I do understand that a filthy bathroom can be a dangerous place to self-dose. There was equal outrage about my suggestion of going to the car. People with diabetes say they have a right to shameless public displays of diabetes, according to an enlightening post on InsulinNation.com.

I’m sorry my opinion helped perpetuate stigma and shame, leading some, especially children, to hide their condition. I’ve learned this can develop into poor management because people wait to treat until they are in a private space. That’s dangerous and puts their health at serious risk. Many members of the diabetes community have educated me about the hell they go though to live. I thank them for sharing their gut-wrenching stories with me. I wish they didn’t have this sadistic disease.

I’m sorry this disease could result in the loss of limbs, eyesight, causes diabetic heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, high blood pressure, nerve damage and other medical complications. How utterly awful that must be to lose a foot, leg, or your life, or have to endure regular, painful dialysis as kidneys begin to fail.

I’m sorry people often fat- and food-shame those living with diabetes for what they eat and for “not maintaining a healthy diet.” It’s nobody’s business what anyone eats or how diabetes is managed.

I’m sorry low or high blood sugar can kill or cause a coma from insulin shock because medicine wasn’t dosed correctly or taken on time, or because of shame.

I’m sorry some members of the diabetes community felt it was OK to bully, harass and threaten me, my family and friends on social media. I received death threats, was subjected to abusive language, and have been relentlessly trolled by hundreds of members of the diabetes community for days. That’s not OK. Emails and Facebook messages were sent to the Sun Sentinel demanding I be fired for my opinion (that’s my job). Some kind souls were ashamed of this behavior and warned me I wasn’t safe. I thank them for that. Others sent emails to help educate me. Thanks for that.

Others, not so much. “I saw your post about someone taking literally life saving insulin in a restaurant and that you thought it was “gross,” wrote Kristen Hohmann in an email. “I can only hope someone or everyone you love or you directly discover an entirely unprovoked genetic illness that destroys your ability to live life as a normal person and have to do something like that to stay alive. I hope you die in a fire you ignorant bitch.”

More said they hoped I would die from a diabetic coma. Scads of others called me vile, unpublishable names on my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. No matter how offensive some thought my comments were, they had no right to threaten bodily harm. That’s not OK.

I contacted administrators of Facebook diabetes groups and asked them to moderate member comments that advocated harassing me online. They assured me they would, and they have. I thank them for that, and trust the diabetes community will police itself and speak out against such dangerous mob mentality.

I’m sorry some think my opinion was discrimination. It was not. I didn’t not violate anyone’s rights by having an opinion. I took no action. My speech and this column is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Those out there who disagree with me and others — who also happen to have diabetes — have the right to express their opinions. I celebrate and welcome that. My comments did not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. I did not violate any law. There is no need to report me to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as some on Twitter advocated. If people with diabetes are truly discriminated against, they can call ADA legal advocates at 800-342-2383. Know your rights.

I’m sorry I couldn’t make larger donations to the American Diabetes Foundation at Diabetes.org and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation at JDRF.org to repent for my insensitive comments. I dedicated my contributions to all those who have died from the disease. I know my money will help further diabetes education and research, but mostly, to one day find a cure.

I’m sorry diabetes sucks.

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