Happy New year everybody! I still can’t believe 2016 has come to an end already. So many positive changes happened in my life in 2o16 (this blog included!). Last New Years Eve is when I had my surgery, and got the pacemaker put in my stomach (talk about new year, new me.. right?). Every year I always reflect on the past year and write it down, but this will be my first time doing it publicly.

In 2016, I:

Made some amazing friends, lost some too. Woke up with a pacemaker in my stomach, terrified.. but now I’m finally able to eat salad, some vegetables, and other food I wasn’t able to for over a year and a half without going to the hospital. I got Dexcom CGM and starting watching my sugars more closely, and got my a1C down from a 12.2, to a 6.6 in a matter of months. I adopted the sweetest puppy. I grew closer, better relationships with both of my parents (my rocks in life), as well as my grandmother (my last grandparent left, and boy, she sure is special.) I grew stronger both mentally as a person, as well as physically. I laughed until I cried, and cried until I laughed. I chopped over 12 inches off my hair, I started being comfortable in my own skin.  I started trusting whatever life has planned for me.. and was able to let go of a lot of suffering I was holding on to. I made mistakes, I learned from them. Made more (I’m human), learned from those too. Made better eating habits. I started owning my diabetes, and stopped living in fear, and started living with hope.  I started a blog (one of my favorite memories of the year) and started getting more involved in the DOC (diabetic online community).. also another thing I’m so thankful I did this year!

While I’m on the topic of the diabetic online community.. have you guys heard of Beyond Type 1? They’re  my favorite organization. I’ve mentioned them before, and wrote about their “snail mail” pen pal option on their website. I’m not sure how long its been out, but now they have an app, and it’s basically its own social media for diabetics, parents of diabetics, caregivers, etc.  I just downloaded it the other day and really like it so far, there’s topics to follow, you can post questions, connect with people in your area, etc. If you want to check it out, click: here! Of course they also have Instagram, facebook, twitter, and now snapchat (they have a different diabetic host everyday, and I think that’s really cool!) so go check them out on there, too- I really like seeing what these guys are doing!

Speaking of my favorite “diabetic related” things.. I think I’ll be doing a post like that soon, sharing my favorite snacks for lows, snacks for when I’m high, and snacks for when I’m sick, amongst other things. Stay tuned!

I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for the diabetic community, every year just gets better and better with all the technology… just waiting patiently for the cure! This will be my first year with a consistent and good a1c, and I’m so excited to see what else this year brings. I have a feeling it’ll be a good one! Do you have any goals you plan on working toward this year? What do you want to accomplish  by the end of the year? I’d definitely like to continue lowering my a1c and getting my health as “perfect” as it can be. Thank you guys for making the end of 2016 so special for me, connecting and talking with some of you has been so awesome, and I can’t wait to keep it up!

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” Norman Vincent Peale

I hope you guys all had a wonderful holiday season and are having a happy new year so far! I’m not sure of an exact date yet  (waiting on my Dad,– No pressure dad!) , but I’ll be posting something written through my fathers eyes in the near future- I can’t wait to read it myself, and post!

Have a great Monday everybody, & stay hopeful!

Chelsea– The Hopeful Diabetic ❤