Commandment of Service

Unit: Signal Regiment
Start of service: January 7th, 2013
Length of service: 12 months (probably)

They said today was a kind of historic day in Finland. Well, briefly, I was accepted as the very first woman with T1DM (Type 1 Diabetes) to serve in the Finnish Defence Forces.

Anyway, I know that some people think diabetes as some kind of horrible disease. Well, perhaps, but perhaps not. I think it as a lifestyle. I wasn't able to prevent my pancreas stop producing insulin, because T1DM is genetic. Seriously, my so-called disease didn't appear because I ate sugar or that I ate too much. T2DM (Type 2 Diabetes) is absolutely a different thing and in many cases just a result of bad manners of living.

Just saying, but I hate it when people don't know the difference between T1DM and T2DM. T1DM usually appears in childhood, and I was 14 when mine was noticed. I live a normal healthy life today, thanks for the advanced treatment and insulin pens, and now that I'm accepted to the FDF as the very first diabetic woman, other eager women can follow easier. In total, there have been 104 male diabetics in the Forces before me, so therefore I'm number 105 in overall statistics.

I'm really happy I was given a chance.