Anne's Story
February 3, 2016
Sarah has lived with diabetes for 35 years, and we have been together for 20 of them. I didn't know very much about diabetes when we met in graduate school. Once in a while she would grab some apple juice and we'd wait a few minutes before taking a walk, or she'd refill her insulin pump while we were studying, but we didn't have long discussions about it.
As we've traveled through the years together, diabetes has presented us with more than enough things to talk about: scary lows in the middle of the night, seeing endocrinologists when we didn't have insurance, insulin boiling in the car on a summer road trip, putting the CGM through the washing machine...the crazy things that happen as a result of diabetes would make a great sitcom episode.
Along with some unbelievable stories we can share at parties, diabetes presents us with all kinds of opportunities to work together. While I don't love that we get to build our relationship this way, I also try to remind Sarah that she doesn't have to carry all the diabetes stuff by herself. Sarah is stronger, smarter, and more confident because she's had to be. I'm here to listen, to help her find available options to whatever diabetes problem is causing frustration, and to say "You've got this." Because she does.
Submitted by Anne Kirven. Her wife, Sarah Mart, has lived with diabetes for 35 years. They were married in december 2015 to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They have a daughter, Megan, who is 10 years old.