This morning at work, my best friend was frustrated over a variety of things in her life that were changing. "You know I don't like change, Gin," she said. "I hate it!"

Personally, I like change because it inevitably leads to the start of something different, something new. Sure, sometimes changing up a routine or a schedule or a huge part of you life like where you live means that you have to leave some things behind, but for the most part, some new and potentially even better is what you're heading towards. And I genuinely love that part of life.

Diabetes on the other hand is an ever-changing disease. As your body changes, your insulin needs will change and your blood sugars will need some fine-tuning. The changes that come with diabetes are impossible to avoid, so you've got to be willing to accept them, adapt, and roll with it!

My dad has this phrase that I think is both hilarious and fantastic (mostly hilarious because of how he exclaims it. I love doing the impersonation).
    “A.I.O.!” he exclaims. “A.I.O.!”
    Adapt, Improvise & Overcome!
    I think he’s a genius.
(I tease him that I’m going to get “A.I.O.” tattooed onto my body…he doesn’t think that’s funny.)

Changes happens. All the time. You can either mope and resist it, or accept it and get going! Aside from the obvious part when you are actually diagnosed with a chronic illness and you suddenly have to redesign your life in order to meet the needs of living with it, diabetes comes with a bundle of other surprises.

Usually, I carry around a juice box or glucose tabs with me at all times in case I get a low blood sugar, but if I don’t have that juice box when my blood sugar drops, Lord knows I’ve got to find another source of sugar and I’ve got to find it fast.  I’ve gone as far as knocking on a stranger’s door while out for a run when my blood sugar dropped low and I had foolishly forgotten to bring backup-glucose with me. I would gladly steal candy from a baby if it prevented me from going into a hypoglycemic-induced seizure.

My point is: learning to improvise with a disease like diabetes is incredibly important. You have to be flexible. You have to be willing to plan eating around exercise and exercise around eating. You have to figure out how to wear an insulin pump with a prom dress. You have to be willing to sit down with a juice box in the middle of a basketball game with a low blood sugar while the rest of the team keeps playing.

Diabetes is not one of those situations where you can simply “tough it out.” If your blood sugar is low, you have to drop everything else and deal with it. If you're consistently over 300 in the morning, you can't ignore that and let it work itself out - that ain't gonna happen!

But don't get frustrated or feel like you might as well give up if it isn't working now.