REAL LIFE
Hiding from
the Truth
When is it OK to hide a
diabetes diagnosis?
BY OREN LIEBERMANN, PWD TYPE 1
Inspire
I
remember the fi rst lie I told about
diabetes. It was February 2015,
and I was interviewing with CNN
for a position as an international
correspondent in Jerusalem. CNN had
fl own me to Atlanta for a full day of
fi ring-squad interviews, and I had vowed
that diabetes would not keep me from
gett ing the job.
I made sure I wouldn’t have to test my
blood sugar or administer insulin during
the course of that day. When I had break-
fast that morning, I intentionally took
less insulin than I needed for the meal,
spiking my blood sugar. My plan was to
ride that high blood sugar all day until
the interviews were over. I kept my dia-
betes supplies in my bag but never once
reached in to use them.
During the interviews, we talked
about the challenges of reporting in Jeru-
salem and what it’s like living in the Mid-
dle East. But every time an opportunity
came up to mention that I had diabetes, I
changed the subject or avoided bringing
it up.
I could have been forthcoming. I
could have told them that I had been di-
agnosed with type 1 a year earlier, when
I was in Nepal during a round-the-world
backpacking trip with my wife. I could
have explained that it hadn’t stopped me
then and it wouldn’t stop me now that
I had learned to cope and thrive with di-
abetes, and I would do the same to meet
the challenges of the job. But I thought
that revealing my disease might lead to a
series of wildly inaccurate assumptions
about what I was capable of, which could
implicitly aff ect their decision to hire me.
So I kept my diabetes hidden.
By midaft ernoon, a combination of
nerves and going hours without eating
left me hypoglycemic. I could feel a slight
dizziness and jitt ery fi ngers. Yet I knew
I was in the homestretch, so I still didn’t
check my blood sugar or fi nd anything to
eat. I even ignored the Lifesavers gum-
mies in my bag, knowing I had wrapped
up the interviews and was almost on my
way to the airport.
I got the job. But I regret my choice
to ignore my blood sugar during those
interviews. It was a stupid, misguided de-
cision. I wasn’t honest with myself about
a disease that’s not going away anytime
soon. Even though my low wasn’t as bad
as it could have been my blood sugar
was probably somewhere in the 60s I
willingly put myself at risk, and that’s a
dangerous precedent.
On my fi rst day in my new job, I
showed everyone in the CNN Jerusalem
offi ce how to test blood sugar, use insulin
pens, and administer glucagon in the
case of an emergency. I answered ques-
tions: What caused my diabetes? What
can I eat? Am I going to keel over and
die one day at work? (Th ere were a few
misconceptions.) It immediately built
a rapport with my new colleagues and
showed that I trusted them enough to
discuss something that, for many people,
is personal and private.
Now, if I have an issue, I am sur-
rounded by people who know how to
help. On long days reporting in the fi eld,
my co-workers will make sure we have
extra snacks, or check that I have enough
insulin, or ask me about my blood sugar.
When they see me using some new dia-
betes technology or changing my routine,
they ask about it. Th ey are along for the
diabetes journey.
Talking to others about your diabetes
is an intensely personal decision. How
you approach the topic with your family,
friends, and colleagues if at all is one
of the most diffi cult questions to answer
aft er a diagnosis. And I know rushing
out with it like a football player charging
onto the fi eld isn’t the right decision for
everyone. But I have found nothing but
support in doing so. I’ll likely never be
excited that I have diabetes, but I will
not back down from it in any way, and
that includes being as open and honest
as I can with those around me. I’ve made
a promise: that my fi rst lie about diabe-
tes will also be my last.
OREN LIEBERMANN is an Emmy
award-winning CNN international cor-
respondent based in Jerusalem, where he
lives with his family. He is the author of
Th e Insulin Express: One Backpack,
Five Continents, and the Diabetes
Diagnosis Th at Changed Everything.
“I’ve made a promise:
that my fi rst lie
about diabetes will
also be my last.”
Oren and
his family
traveling
in Greece
COURTESY OF OREN LIEBERMANN
SPR I NG 2019 / DI A BETIC LI V ING 41
