As Good As It Gets

08/29/08 Living Well

In the movie As Good As It Gets, Jack Nicholson's character charges into his psychiatrist's office and asks the following question of the patients in the waiting room: "What if this is as good as it gets?"

The question is rhetorical and the audience is supposed to infer that he is referring to both the new relationship he has entered as well as the possibility that his neuroses will never get any better. None of the patients answer him, which is apt, because the question truly is one that can only be answered in private. Obviously the question also applies to any of us with diabetes who feel burdened by the daily toil of self-care.

Therefore, go ahead, ask yourself the aforementioned question. What is your response? Are you complacent with your life and can you remain so for the duration of time you have it? If the answer is yes, then I suggest you are quite lucky. Achieving such satisfaction, especially in the face of the everyday obstacles of diabetes is no small feat. Congratulations.

If, on the other hand, you looked at your life and thought: Oh please don't let this be it, then the following questions must be answered: What is it that caused such a reaction? What is standing in your way to happiness?

The minutiae of our disease often clutter our ability to "see the forest for the trees." Quite possibly your life is rich and rewarding, but the testing and injections and discomfort associated with diabetes can obscure your vision. I think then, for us, the question should be posed differently: What if, despite diabetes, this is as good as it gets?

I believe that question feels different. It puts diabetes in its place and provides us the necessary distance to see our lives in agreeable terms. It allows us to sit back and say, "Then so be it." From there we can enjoy life for all its splendor and feel the cathartic release that comes from acceptance. We may never be cured, but that doesn't mean we have to suffer.

Eric Devine, 30, has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was 12. He lives in upstate New York with his wife and two daughters where he works as a high school English teacher. Devine is an avid writer and is currently seeking publication of two Young Adult novel manuscripts.