Leading the Struggle to Thrive

The term “non-compliant” can seem like a scarlet letter on a patient’s electronic health record. To so many people living with diabetes, “non-compliant” is seen as a negative word, and has the ability to perpetuate defeatist thoughts and make the daily struggles of life with a chronic illness even more challenging than they are on their own. Finding success with type 1 diabetes requires a balancing act of blood sugars, carbohydrate intake, measured and monitored activity, and knowing your body and its myriad of potential malfunctions extremely well. A better set of words to appreciate the challenges of living with diabetes, and the desire to constantly improve, are “struggle” and “thrive.”