How Do I Explain...

So, this past Sunday I was getting my hair cut and colored by the same girl that I have been going to for over a year.  For some reason on this day, we were talking about how much we both love dogs and so I decided to mention that my sister has a service dog.  Of course, the same thing always happens when I tell that to someone.  They say "oh wow, is your sister blind".  To which I have to say "no, my sister has Type 1 Diabetes and she has a service dog to alert her when her blood sugar is out of range and she needs to take action like testing or eating.

But, of course after I give this explanation, I can always tell that it went right over the person's head and they didn't really hear me, and so I then feel the need to push ahead with more "info".  My stylist asks me when my sister was diagnosed and I said when she was 6.  To which my stylist responded "wow, that's so young...i didn't know people got diabetes that young.  She went on to tell me that her 65 year old grandma is diabetic and she has an old uncle that is as well.

Well, anyone who knows me, knows that I can't let that go.  So, of course i had to commence "operation  explain the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes".  My poor student stares at me wondering how they got themselves into this!  I just can't help it, It MATTERS to me that people KNOW the difference between 1 and 2.  Is it only me that cares??  I don't know, it just bothers me.

Ok, then, my poor stylist continues with her lack of understanding and says "oh, so, I'll bet your sister is really sad cause she can't eat sugar".

So, there I sat for a split second....sigh......

Trying to decide if I go further and explain to her the complexities of Type 1.  How insulin relates to food, and that the understanding of that relationship has evolved and become more sophisticated.  So that NO, its not all about just not being able to eat sugar.  And then do I go further and talk about how my sister is allergic to insulin and has to mix it with steroids before injecting?   But, by now, I caught the glazed over look in my stylists eyes and decided to leave it for another time.

I DO believe in educating people one at a time, that's for sure, but that day think I did enough.

Just my little pet peeve....making sure the difference between the "types" are understood.