Today I am thinking about all the veterans who have served our country in the armed forces (and those who are still serving). Thank you for your dedication to ensuring that my family and I are safe and free. Diabetes is hard enough in the U.S.; I can’t imagine living with diabetes in a country where freedom does not ring.
I attended my kids’ Veterans Day assembly, which was on Tuesday (no school today). It was a wonderful celebration of those who have served – we learned about some people’s experiences in the different branches of the military. And of course, the kids sang some great, patriotic songs (and one tear-jerker called, “Thank You, Soldiers”).
After the assembly I was interested to find out if anything has changed in the world of diabetes in the military. One thing I once fantasized about doing in my life, and was not able to pursue due to diabetes, was being a Navy Nurse. This was not a lifelong dream or anything, but something that really intrigued me earlier in my career.
I learned that having type 1 diabetes still limits someone from entering the military. I can’t quite tell if there are some military jobs that would allow someone with type 1 diabetes, or if it is an across-the-board ruling. I also did not see anything definitive on type 2 diabetes. I was intrigued by a story about an Army Sgt who developed type 1 diabetes while in the Army, fought to stay in, and won. He was deployed to Iraq, insulin pump and all. Here’s an interesting blog post related to this topic (be sure to read the comments too).
I have mixed feelings about all this. Although I don’t think diabetes should limit anyone from doing things in life, I personally would not want to deal with diabetes during a war or any other military operation. I have great respect for the people who are working so hard to manage their diabetes in a way that keeps them safe in dangerous and high-stress situations (and these are not just in the military). At any rate, thanks again to all veterans with or without diabetes.