Twisted

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, my glucometer seemed like such a nice chap. He would regularly greet me with a friendly 'Hi' when I checked my blood sugar.

These days, I still get the occasional 'Hi' but they're pretty few and far between. For the most part, he just quietly does his thing.

Ah yes - diabetes humour.

Those who get it, get it. Those who don't - well, just read it again a few times - you'll figure it out.

Like when you see a sign for diabetic chocolate and you feel bad for the poor little things. Who knew chocolate could even get diabetes?....ba dum tish!

I don't have a lot of diabetes jokes per se but I sure spend a lot of my time poking fun at the whole situation using my favourite kind of humour - the sick, twisted kind.

If someone complains about another person who is being a real jerk, I've been known to lean in and whisper "do you want to borrow my insulin needle? One little injection will solve all your problems. They won't even feel it..."

When my mother eyes the candy stash in my purse I always share with her with clear instructions "just leave enough for me so I don't die".

When my pump beeps and co-workers look at it with fear in their eyes, the looks on their faces can be pretty priceless when I respond with "omigod I'm dying!".

Even the other night when I headed out to the first T1 of Niagara meet up - never having seen these people before, I wanted to make sure I was at the right table. I knew without hesitation that, if I had picked the right group, they would totally laugh at the question "are you the folks with diabetes?".

They were and they did.

There's a certain dark humour that develops when you live your life with a chronic disease. Everyone I've met with T1 seems to have it.

I wonder...perhaps dark humour is one of the first diabetes complications that manifests itself after diagnosis? Maybe we've looked pain and death in the face one too many times and it's a little less scary when we can laugh at it. Maybe being twisted actually predisposes one to the 'betes.

Whatever the reason - it does help to make the dark times a little lighter. And it's super fun to throw zingers out there and have a table full of people laugh rather than look in horror.

We might not have a secret handshake but there are other ways we can find ourselves in a crowd.