As a person without diabetes who has many friends who live with diabetes, I see a lot of what goes on in the diabetes online community from a slightly different vantage point. On Saturday night, I was talking with my friend Alex about art. Alex has diabetes, and I mentioned Diabetes Art Day to him in this conversation. The tables turned, though, and he ended up encouraging me to participate in D Art Day.

So, I busted out the 60-whatever pencil crayons I bought to make anatomy a bit more enjoyable . . . and for an hour and fifteen minutes, created this:

I’ve only seen it from the outside, but this is still only partly what I’ve seen. I’ve seen people moving from darkness into light in their lives with diabetes. I’ve seen connections being made, and I’ve been involved in them. I’ve seen people taking ownership of their diabetes. I’ve read stories of the triumphs, the tribulations, the highs and lows. I’ve felt pride in my country for the scientists from Toronto who discovered how to use insulin to keep people with diabetes alive. I’ve seen love and compassion, encouragement and movement, advocacy and community. I’ve seen so much more.

But mostly, I’ve seen love. And I’ve seen hope.