Whenever I fill out a new medical history form, beyond the obligatory listing of a past tonsillectomy and knee surgery, most every answer is a “no” until I reach the diabetes family history questions. Then I start checkmarking like mad. When I was younger, I found it comical to observe the look on doctors’ faces when they’d read both my brothers and my parents are Type 1 (T1) diabetics. Upon perusing all those checkmarks and learning my parents were diagnosed in their 50s, doctors usually pause for a long moment, then peer up to ask, “You mean your parents are type 1, not type 2?” I always nod my head to confirm, then clarify further that one brother was diagnosed as a juvenile and the other in his 30s. At that point, doctors shrug their shoulders and move on. I get the feeling they don’t know what to say.  

But now I’m 40 years old, a never-receding high watermark lapping further up my mortal frame. I’m older and wiser now – wishing I could take those checkmarks away, avoid that long, sterile pause.

Here’s a quick lowdown on our family’s diabetes history. My brother Mark was diagnosed with T1 diabetes at the age of 13. Fifteen years later my dad entered the world of needles in his mid-50s. His T1 diagnosis surprised us deeply and had us proclaiming, “So that’s where this disease came from.” We hadn’t been able to pinpoint any clear family history of the disease. Then my eldest brother was diagnosed in his early 30s. With three out of five in the family on insulin, the conversation metamorphosed into, “Was it something in the water?” Finally my mom was diagnosed in her late 50s. The last strand of my genetic safety net had slipped from my grasp – if my mom had T1, I could be a checkmark in the making.

This is a snapshot of my unusual family history. I have a 31-year-thick album of diabetes to share. Please come look at my pictures. As I turn the pages here on Trusera, I particularly look forward to flipping through your diabetes life albums, too.