Thanks for sharing, James. I'm a Type 2 diabetic, and it took me several years to get over my anger at the diagnosis and start dealing with it. Over time, I came to realize that it was important that the people around me knew about the diabetes, and what to do if I ever went into a crisis at work or at home, or at my regular stomping grounds. I became something of an advocate at work.

About six of us, in a department of 34, "came out" about our diabetes and also the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We also covered epileptic seizures while we were at it, and made sure everyone in the department knew what to do "in the event of." So when Tom had a seizure in the office, we got him in a safe position and made sure he was breathing okay until the medics could take charge. The diabetics among us also pooled our knowledge on how to cope with shift changes during refueling outages. The result? All of us stayed safer, and so did our co-workers. Several co-workers also got tested, diagnosed, and got treatment far sooner than they might have otherwise.

You may be frustrated and exhausted with having to educate the people around you, but you may also be a blessing to many. You listed a lot of things that you are at the end of your article. Add mentor, advocate and teacher to the list.