As I took the needle out of my stomach, I heard my sister exclaim, “Ta Da!” as if I had just done a successful back handspring.

I hadn’t realized that anyone was watching me give myself insulin as I had stepped out of the room full of people to take my shot. Diabetes is considered an invisible illness, but for me it can be extremely visible, especially when I first starting injecting insulin.

Diabetes is visible to me in one way through bruises at the injection site

We don’t make a habit of photographing my stomach, but we decided to document the bruises, and now I see them and feel like I’ve mastered a skill.

I count it as a success each time the insulin goes in without blood coming out.

They’re small victories… but still victories.