I was diagnosed over 31 years ago.  I was 14.  The message that the doctors and nurses gave me was that you can live a normal life.  All you have to do is take your insulin, eat good and test.  At the time I got it there were no blood sugar monitors.  No, I peed on a strip to see how much sugar I was “spilling.”  I wanted to believe the doctors and nurses.  My family and the people around me who cared for me wanted to believe them to.  The diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes is a shock to the system. It is a massive body blow that knocks the wind right out of you.  Nobody wants it.  Everyone wants to minimize its impact.  So, when there is a message that you can be normal you want to believe it.  Sorry.  I am here to tell you that you cannot live a normal life.  Not possible.  Not going to happen.  If you try you will be denying yourself the taste of truth.  And without the taste of truth life is bitter.  So get it out of your mind that you can live a normal life.  Normal is out.  However, you can live an excellent life.  You can live a happy life.  You can live a productive life.  You can live a meaningful life.  Give up the desire to be normal.  This has been a lifelong lesson for me.  You see I got the freakin disease when I was 14.  I was captain of my soccer team and hockey team and an A student.  I was popular at school and I had a lot going for me.  The one thing I wanted to be was normal.  I was the standard for normal.  Anything not normal to a 14 year old is abnormal or weird.  Normal is out.  Thank God….