Ramadaan is a very special and important time for Muslims, where those who have reached puberty are required to fast from sunrise to sunset. This means abstaining from food, drink, sexual activity (if you're married), smoking etc.
It is a mechanism to heal the body and give it the opportunity to recover from all the 'junk' we put in it. Also it is a time to bring us closer to our Creator through increased prayers and the recitation of the Qur'an. We give charity to those less fortunate and traditionally send plates of goodies to our neighbours to ensure that they also have something to break their fast with.
However, having diabetes and going hypo often means that I'm allowed to give fidiya (an amount specified by the Muslim judicial council) that will feed someone their staple food for a day. This year the amount is set at R10 per day. So I don't have to fast but that still doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to.
Also eating in ramadaan is a bit of a challenge especially if you'd like to be considerate of the other Muslims around you that are fasting. Sitting in an open plan office with limited meeting rooms often means I just need to eat at my desk.
I know I have to but even going to buy food leaves me feeling self conscious. I know that my Creator allows me to eat but still people can be very judgemental. I know they don't mean to though.
So wearing my scarf and going to mc D's drive though may have been an interesting sight for the tellers, or I could have just been imaging it! I have been going very hypo even before ramadaan started so I tell myself to just do what I need to. They can either see my eating or have to pick me up, having a diabetic coma on the floor. I figured that seeing me eat would be less trouble for them and me :-)
I've had diabetes for 26 years now and I still have these challenges. I can grow from it and those around me can learn to be less judgemental too. Otherwise I can just wear a big sticker, 'Diabetic on insulin, I'm allowed to eat!' :-)
