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Expanding my Comfort Zone (Meredith Miller)

Since I was a small child, I’ve always been very shy. I’ve always been afraid to put myself out there, especially in situations that are unfamiliar. I have a small core group of good friends, and that’s usually where my comfort zone ends.

Being diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in July 2009 was a huge shock for me. My half-sister Julie was diagnosed at age 7, and was very brittle, so I was already too familiar with the highs and lows of the disease. It wasn’t your typical type 1 diagnosis, I had only a few of the typical symptoms so I was taken for a glucose tolerance test, for which I did not get a passing grade. My diabetes was very slow to progress, and I managed to lengthen my honeymoon stage and control my sugars without insulin with the help of several type 2 oral medications until December 2010, when i started MDI’s of Lantus and Apidra. After my constantly evolving treatment, I feel that I emerged a stronger, more mature person.

When I decided to sign up for the Winter Slipstream, I was both excited and scared. Excited to meet a group of other people that deal with the exact same type of things as I do on a daily basis, but scared that I wouldn’t know what to say them, or that I would quite fit in.

What I discovered after walking into the doors of the Core was that I can put myself out there and make a connection with people whom I’ve never met before. I found myself in a room full of Type 1 diabetics swapping stories and experiences that I could not discuss with any other group of people. It’s not usually within my comfort zone to strike up a conversation with people whom are not my friends, but at
slipstream it was easy.

If there is one thing that I can say about my first Connected in Motion event experience, is that I’ve never felt more accepted and understood as a type 1 diabetic as I did last weekend at YMCA camp Wanakita. And it makes me so happy to know that I am not alone, and there are so many wonderful people out there that are going through the same things that I am every day. All I had to to was to put myself out there and introduce myself. I definitely expanded my comfort zone last weekend. Thanks so much Connected in Motion for bringing everyone together!

By: Meredith Miller