A Life Altered: My Type 1 Diabetes Journey Amidst the 2020 Pandemic

Hi, I’m Monica, and I invite you to join me on a deeply personal journey that altered the course of my life in ways I never anticipated. In this blog, I share the intimate details of my experience with a health crisis and the emotional rollercoaster of fear, shock, and resilience.

Life was cruising along its ordinary course for me in the early fall of 2019. Little did I know that a silent storm was brewing within my body, ready to reshape the very fabric of my existence. By November, strange symptoms like insatiable thirst and unexpected weight loss began to cast a shadow on my everyday routine. As the holiday season approached, these subtle warnings erupted into a symphony of health concerns that couldn’t be ignored any longer.

On December 18th, I found myself in my doctor’s office, receiving my blood test results that would unravel a truth I wasn’t prepared for—my blood sugar was through the roof! Shocked and at a loss for words, I looked at my doctor who informed me that I was now a Type 2 diabetic and would need to start taking medication right away. I would also need to meet with the nurse at the Diabetes Center as soon as possible to be educated on how to manage this newly diagnosed disease.

On January 4th, I met with the nurse at the Diabetes Center. She was extremely kind and helped educate me on how I needed to manage my blood sugar moving forward. In addition, I would need to have another blood test done and come in for weekly progress meetings.

This test result was even more shocking as it revealed that my pancreas wasn’t producing healthy levels of insulin. The shock was palpable, the questions overwhelming. What did this mean for me? How would my life change? As I grappled with these thoughts, I was advised that I would have to immediately start taking insulin shots once daily to compensate for the insulin that my body was not producing. Wait. What? Fear, shock, and tears set in, but I knew I had to be strong and keep it together.

The nurse advised that she wanted to run a few more tests to confirm precisely what type of diabetes I had. It would take 6 weeks to receive the results- we were now in early February.

March arrived, and with it came the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty and fear that gripped the world mirrored the feelings within me. Amidst the chaos, I found myself navigating not only the complexities of my newfound diabetes but also the challenges presented by a world in crisis. Then I received the phone call that completely changed my life—I tested positive for Type 1 Diabetes—LADA, which stands for “Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults.” It is an autoimmune chronic illness for which there is no cure. I would now also need to take mealtime insulin in addition to the once-daily insulin injection that I take to live.

Quarantine became a time of self-discovery and resilience. Learning to manage my blood sugar levels became as crucial as adapting to the ‘new normal’ of masks, social distancing, and remote work. The isolation of those early pandemic days mirrored the isolation I felt as I grappled with my diagnosis. Yet, as the days turned into weeks, a sense of strength emerged from within.

With the support of virtual healthcare, I embarked on a journey of education and empowerment. Zoom calls replaced in-person consultations, and I became adept at monitoring my glucose levels and administering insulin. I also discovered an entire Type 1 Diabetic Community on Instagram. These wonderful humans helped me in ways beyond what any healthcare provider could as they lived with this disease every day like me. I am forever grateful to those who reached out with a helping hand.

As the world slowly began to reopen, I emerged with a newfound resilience and a sense of purpose. My journey is a testament to the strength that resides within us during times of adversity, showing that even in the face of a global pandemic, life goes on, and every challenge is an opportunity for growth.

Today, as I reflect on my journey, I find gratitude for the lessons learned and the community of support that carried me through.

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Barack Obama and the Power of Social Media

We are all familiar with Barack Obama’s historic election win in 2008 and becoming the first African American to become President of the United States of America. There is no denying that he has a charismatic personality but just how did this somewhat unknown Senator from Chicago gain popularity while on the campaign trail to pull off this historic win?  He went to where his target audience was and connected with them there- on social media! 

President Barack Obama meets with members by National Archives and Records Administration is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, Obama and his team truly tapped into the power of all available social media platforms to communicate directly with voters and raise campaign funds. These platforms provided Obama’s team with the ability to reach a wider audience, particularly the younger generation who was heavily engaged in social media. 

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What’s also significant is that they understood the critical importance of being authentic and transparent on social media.  Twitter (which was fairly new at the time) gave them the ability to provide real-time updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the campaign. This would help to ‘humanize’ Obama and allow his voters to feel that they had a more personal connection with him. In addition, using social media helped to control the narrative and counter misinformation immediately, therefore, easily allowing to change the public’s perception.  This is something that is difficult to do when using traditional media. The following is a great article on his use of social media during this time.

They also launched the My.BarackObama.com website for supporters to become members and find their voices by sharing their stories and experiences in a blog.  Members could also make donations and upload a photo, allowing them to feel that they were participating.  They were also able to build fundraising pages and connect with family, friends, and others which gave them a sense of community and inclusiveness.  This was a grassroots approach and gave supporters a sense of empowerment to advocate for Obama and organically spread his message.  In addition, there was the creation of the Obama iPhone app- more information on the app is available here. 

Another important part of the campaign was the celebrity endorsements such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, George Clooney, Will.i.am., Bruce Springsteen, and Beyoncé.  This was significant as his campaign team could further expand their reach to their target audience by tapping into each celebrity’s large group of followers. I remember watching Barack Obama on the Oprah Winfrey Show back in 2006 when she endorsed him before he even officially announced his candidacy in 2007.  She certainly had me sold on Barack Obama, that’s just how influential she is!

President Barack Obama discusses the situation by National Archives and Records Administration is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Barack Obama’s use of social media didn’t end after he got elected in 2008, as he continued to use it as a communication vehicle during his time in office, and then once again during his re-election campaign in 2012.  More details on his use during the 2012 election can be found here.

In conclusion, I believe Barack Obama’s use of social media was extremely innovative for its time and it revolutionized how politicians and their teams would build future political campaigns.

President Barack Obama, with First by National Archives and Records Administration is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Do you believe that social media has overall had a positive or negative impact on today’s political landscape?

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Donald Trump, Social Media, and January 6th

The storming of Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, marked a dark and unprecedented moment in American history. As we are all aware, Donald Trump effectively used his social media platforms, particularly Twitter, to fuel the events of that horrific day.

Since losing the 2020 election, Trump repeatedly made baseless claims and false narratives using his social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. We are all aware of his repeated claims of voter fraud despite lacking concrete evidence to prove these claims. He effectively created a sense of mistrust which further fueled the divide among his supporters. By using his platforms, he was able to engage directly with his supporters and throw fuel to the fire, and effectively make a call to action that would lead to the storming on Capitol Hill.  You can read more information here.

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Engaging directly with his supporters in real-time was a key advantage for Trump as he could put his own spin on what he claimed was widespread voter fraud and they believed him. After all, he is the President! His very loyal followers would never think to fact-check and believe otherwise. By doing this, Trump was able to shape public opinion and manipulate the perception of events, which only made his supporters angrier and the belief that they were going to defend democracy.   

In addition, social media platforms should have taken more action by implementing stronger measures to curb the spread of misinformation, detect and remove incitement to violence. They have a responsibility not only to ensure the safety and well-being of their users but also society. By proactively addressing the dissemination of harmful content and collaborating with law enforcement, they could have played a crucial role in preventing or mitigating the events that unfolded on that day. More on this here.

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Donald Trump’s social media presence undeniably played a significant role in the storming of Capitol Hill on that fateful day. By utilizing platforms such as Twitter, he amplified false narratives and incited his followers with a call to action. The horrific events of January 6^th are a reminder of the immense power and influence that social media platforms can have in the hands of those in a position of power.

Do you feel that social media platforms such as Twitter should have done more to help prevent the Capitol riots from ever taking place?

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My Experience on Social Media During the Pandemic

I think most of us can agree that social media platforms are powerful tools that allow us to connect with others and engage in various topics of conversations.  However, I’ve also seen them being used as a catalyst to spread hate, fear, conspiracy theories and misinformation.  Many of us have seen this on multiple platforms and I’m sure it left you shaking your head at times- it’s left me shaking mine! 

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, use of platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube blew up with tons of conspiracy theories and misinformation which sadly, led to a divide amongst some of us, and played a role in the rise of Asian hate. You can read more on this here.

The conspiracy theories felt like they were sometimes straight out of an X-Files episode (hopefully you have all heard of that show).  There were so many theories about the origins of the virus and why it was created.  Theories such as all governments were working together to create a New World Order because we have too much freedom- Huh? Or that the virus was created for biological warfare- WAIT…WHAT?  Yup, I’m sure you all had seen your fair share as well.

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 Then, the misinformation about the vaccines and the use of the mRNA technology started happening.  From theories that the vaccine would completely change your DNA to governments are injecting tracking devices in us or videos being posted showing a magnet being stuck to the injection site.  There was so much misinformation floating around on social media that you simply could not escape it! 

Photo by Maksim Goncharenok on Pexels.com

These were just a few of the conspiracies and misinformation I saw on various platforms. Instagram for me was one of the worst when it came to this. Constant videos and stories coming up not only in my feed but also in my messages from both people I knew personally and people who I had met on IG. I also remember the nasty comments, disagreements, and arguments amongst people during this time not just over social media but in our everyday lives.  Even if I didn’t agree with what people were saying, I remained calm, kind, and respectful, and often would change the topic to something more pleasant.  We are all different and I’m not going to tell people what they can and cannot believe, I can only offer my thoughts and opinion.

The rise in Asian hate was also very disheartening.  Just because the virus originated in Wuhan, China and the Chinese government delayed letting the world know, does not mean that all Chinese people are responsible for this.  How does that even make any sense? 

It seemed like such a dark time, and I felt that humanity had forgotten what it meant to be respectful of one another, to be kind, compassionate, and understanding towards each other. It made me sad. While most of my experiences with social media have been positive ones, I found the best way to cope with this was to take small social media breaks. It allowed me to forget about all the noise out there and do what was right for my own mental health.

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What was your experience like using social media platforms during the pandemic and how did it make you feel? Did you also find that you needed to take a social media break?

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The Impact of Social Media in My Life

We all know that in today’s world, social media has become part of our daily lives.  Whether it be Instagram, Facebook, etc., most of us use one or more of these platforms on a regular basis. 

For years the only social media platform that I used was Facebook and LinkedIn, but I wasn’t a regular user in those days.  I joined Facebook because I had so may friends and colleagues asking me to join, and a lot of my friends were posting pictures of their many adventures or kids.  As for LinkedIn, my cousin had sent an invitation for me to join, so I did!

When I lost my job back in 2009 with the only company I had worked for since I was a teenager, things changed.  I became a regular LinkedIn user connecting with former colleagues, recruiters and constantly checking the job board hoping my next job was around the corner.  Truthfully, I hated it!  Although I am naturally an outgoing person by nature, I really hated sending blurbs asking complete strangers to connect with me or asking former colleagues to write a recommendation for me.  Its hard to do this when you are still having trouble coping with your job loss. I got more comfortable as time went on and was making great connections, landing interviews but things still weren’t working out.  Then, one day a connection shared a posting for a job that I was the perfect fit for.  I had a good feeling that this was the one!  I sent a quick message to my connection indicating my interest and formally applied on the company website.  I had 3 back-to-back interviews and got offered the job in which I happily accepted. 

Then, in 2017 I went through a horrible time in my life and needed a way to channel how I was feeling inside as talking to friends just wasn’t helping.  I remembered a friend previously showing me what Instagram was all about, so I decided to create an account.  I used my nickname and a different email to signup as I didn’t want to link my Facebook account.  I wanted to post things freely and express how I was feeling inside without judgement.  I connected with so many wonderful people who were complete strangers, but we had one thing in common- our feelings!  To my surprise, it was those interactions with complete strangers sharing their feeling and personal experiences that helped me feel like myself again.

I kept the account and then in 2020 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition- Type 1 Diabetes a few weeks before the pandemic (Yup!  It no longer is known just as juvenile diabetes; it happens to adults too!).  This made it very difficult to get the proper support I needed to understand how to manage this life changing diagnosis.  Phone calls were too short, and I had a million and one questions to ask and not enough time to ask them in.  So here I am with a broken pancreas in the middle of a global pandemic!  As much as Google is helpful, I used to hate it when people would say ‘Just Google it’.  I have always been of the mindset that Google is not always your friend!  I needed to connect with people who lived and breathed this disease.  So once again, I turned to Instagram.  To my surprise there is an entire Type 1 community who were extremely welcoming, helpful, and super supportive.  They weren’t giving me medical advice, they were sharing their journey living with this disease, helpful tips, resources such as books to read, and most of all offering a shoulder to cry on when you have hard days- the highs and lows in the life of a Type 1 Diabetic as we say.  I have made some real connections within the community and am so thankful to them for helping me through. 

Although not all experiences on social media platforms are always positive (we all have heard, seen or experienced the negatives as well), there is no doubt how powerful and impactful it is in our lives.