Dear Carter

Last week, Moira wrote a post on Despite Diabetes which began with the following sentence:

DOC and others: A great young man named Carter is having a hard time and doubting he can rule the world with diabetes on board.

She asks for letters of encouragement in the comments, and as of this writing, there are thirty-six of them. In addition to my comment on her blog, I’d like to share my letter to Carter here, in the hopes that it might also inspire others who may be struggling with diabetes.

Hi Carter,
I’m convinced that one of the side-effects of diabetes is that it makes you smarter. You learn how to a ton of stuff with numbers, but also develop a sense of intuition which is unparalleled. Oh, and your priorities and values are reinforced, and your sense of compassion and empathy is strengthened.

There’s really a lot of good that can come out of diabetes, you only need to look for it.

Don’t get me wrong, if I had a choice of whether or not to accept the diabetes that was given to me over three decades ago, I would have turned it down, and if I could give it back today, I would.

But I recognize how strong it can make you. If I were in a position to hire someone for a job, and there were two candidates who were – in all other aspects – equivalent, but one had diabetes and the other did not, I’d probably select the person with diabetes (after reviewing employment laws to make sure I could do so). I would trust that this person would be more reliable, more analytical, and (when necessary) more assertive.

I guess I’m using a lot of big words here for someone your age. It can be hard to find the right words to describe everything that comes with diabetes, but I’ve had lots of practice in trying to come up with just the right ones. I hope you understand this message and that encourages you and motivates you. I wouldn’t be writing this message of encouragement if I weren’t living it myself.

Scott
Diagnosed at age 7, now age 39
Living happily and successfully