I refused to let my medical conditions dictate how I lived my life. For years, my identity was that of a student-athlete then, a criminal defense attorney and civil rights activist. I’m not ‘a diabetic.’” I refused to let my health dictate who I am, and instead, have tried to identify myself in terms of my accomplishments. As a child and young adult, I always said: “I have diabetes. I’ve struggled a lot with this over the last decade, and even more so over the last two and a half years. I’ve tried to adjust to my physical disabilities, and accept the fact that a large part of my identity is now that of “disabled person.” I’ve tried to imagine what it would feel like if I had become paralyzed, and I’ve tried to empathize with others who are. I’ve made this claim, knowing full well that I could have it a lot worse: I could actually have become paralyzed I could have completely lost my mobility and independence. Ok, so I have been going around for quite some time, claiming to feel like I am an active mind and spirit trapped inside a diseased body.
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