About a week after a blood test I had a phone call from a nurse to tell me that I had Type 1 diabetes* (T1d), and within hours I was in a&e - quite a shock, I can tell you! I was in hospital on a drip for 4 days, and as it was during the Covid pandemic I wasn't allowed any visitors at all. It was the longest I'd ever been away from my daughter and I was in shock and homesick and starting on a huge learning curve of finger prick blood tests, injecting insulin and carb counting. I was massively overwhelmed and wondering how on earth I was going to accommodate all these changes with an already busy life.
The following few months have reminded me how privileged I am to be self-employed. I have been able to take things at my own pace and not have to worry about organising sick leave and going back to work before I'm ready. I'm also extremely grateful for my wonderful repeat clients - many of whom I have worked for years - who have been generous, kind and patient with me.
I'm proud of myself too. I've been self employed for 8 years and it's my work and efforts in that time that have earned me loyal clients. It was quite difficult to write that as I don't normally notice my own achievements, but I'm learning to, thanks to my extremely supportive business coach, Becky Field from Westfield Coaching.
Writing about diabetes and my diagnosis doesn't have much to do with graphic design directly, but it is now a large part of my life. It's shown me how far I've come since starting my freelance career, and that my clients are willing to be flexible because they know I'll come through for them.
*There are quite a few varieties of diabetes, but the main ones are types 1 and 2. Type 1 is autoimmune - for some mostly unknown reason, antibodies suddenly attack the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, so eventually the body is unable to produce any insulin naturally at all, and will need to inject or pump insulin in order to survive. In children this autoimmune response can happen very quickly, but in adults it can happen gradually, and is often misdiagnosed as Type 2. People with Type 2 often produce enough insulin, but have developed insulin resistance. To learn more, click here