Postcards

Our resident type 1 columnist, Rob Palmer, sees nothing wrong with taking some pride in a job well done and success well earned

Does anyone remember being 10 years old and popping a mono on the BMX for the full extent of their leg-pumping ability? How about puffing the chest feathers out as you launched – with a wafer of cardboard under your wing – what you thought was the biggest leap on record, off the level playing field, down the adjacent steep grassy slope. All for the unashamed love of showing off.

Sure, I can hear myself as a grown man to my own kids, “No one likes a big noter” . I do stand by that one; there is not much more annoying than hearing someone tell you just how great they are.

“Showing off”, however, well that’s another thing altogether. For me, it comes down to hard work and pride in your effort, not in your result. Generally, when the effort matches the desire, the results are pretty good.

That said, it is entirely plausible that you will break a limb flying off the side of a hill on a square of cardboard.

Moving away from what I thought would impress Sonia Brown, Nicole Williams and Carolyn Day as a 10 year old (whether they liked it or not, I felt like I had proved something), it still seems important to me now, when considering the management of diabetes, not to lose the desire and effort that made showing off an option all those years ago.

If you can take out the downsides and look at the positives, there are a few that I find stand out. Type 1 forced a maturity on me as a seven year old that I didn’t expect. In hindsight, as a kid, I became aware of food and healthy quantities. I had an understanding of sugar’s role in my diet. I had goals set for me that may have seemed unrealistic and unfair but, as I grew up, they may have given me a self-control that I would otherwise have gone without.

Sometimes I feel that if not for type 1, I may have had a far less desirable outcome. I still love food and a good time, but when the numbers say it’s time to adjust, it is exactly that. I may be wrong, but I reckon a positive outlook starts internally.

Then to showing off. It’s not about circus tricks but ownership of this condition. Just like riding on a BMX track, there are plenty of moments where there is not a great deal to see, aside from steady pedalling. There may be a couple of stacks, but really, they are opportunities to learn and improve. Then there are the jumps, punctuations to be proud of. These could be an improved HbA1c, a four-hour run of a perfect line of glucose level. Realising that the Christmas pudding is ready just as your recipe says it should be.

When you celebrate these moments as they happen you are not “big noting” yourself. You are simply acknowledging a bit of pre-teenage flair. No matter your age, the ones who care will be thrilled at your success. ■

I reckon a positive outlook starts internally