Type 1 diabetes is what brought Liz Cooke and John Madden together. And it’s also a lovely sticky conduit in their marriage. Their story is funny, thoughtful and, yes, sweet. Check it out on T1dto100.com, “What’s it Like When Your Partner Has Type 1 Diabetes Too? For This Couple it’s Pretty Darn Sweet.”
John and Liz have become friends and more than once arriving at their apartment, I’ve been asked, “Do you need a glucose tablet?” Oh, what a sweet ring of understanding that has. Personally I can’t imagine the husband also having type 1 diabetes, but I can understand how unifying a force it can be.
What a lovely story, and it makes so much sense that sharing the same condition could deepen a relationship rather than complicate it. The moment of walking past each other’s pumps in the dark really captures how ordinary and intimate that shared understanding becomes. I also appreciated how the piece shows diabetes as something that connects people, not just a burden to manage alone.