I’m turning 51 today, thought it could be egood idea to look at life and where I’m at. I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2022/08, to be completely honest it came very unexpectedly then. Although today I can’t understand how I couldn’t understand based on the major and serious symptoms. Constant need to pee and thirst, loss of feeling in my feet and hands. Extreme craving for sugar and cookies.

It’s been a tough couple of years, mainly with my health fluctuating between bad and really bad. I had severe side effects from several of my medications. Sudden chills, mood swings and stomach and head pain. Constantly tired and blurred vision.

But what perhaps hit me the hardest was that suddenly it felt like my strength was halved, all the progress I had made in recent years was suddenly gone. This is where I decided, I would take control of my well-being and I would make sure to get in better shape than ever before. Just over a year ago I discovered Hyrox as a form of training, which has done a lot for my well-being and physical shape. But not only that, it has also helped me a lot mentally.

Training

Earlier in life I focused mainly on strength, the goal of my training was to be able to lift as much as possible. Today I train differently; I notice that my diabetes and especially my blood sugar stay at a controlled level more easily if I mix strength and high-intensity running and rowing. It has really made me a lot better.

Now I am aiming to set an even better time in Stockholm at Hyrox 2025. I am registered with my wife and we will run together just like last year. The goal of my training is mainly to feel as good as possible, to cope with the high pace that my work requires and to find an outlet for feelings such as fear and anxiety that my condition gives me.

Career

I resigned from my previous employer after seven years there. It had been a great journey from working primarily as a developer to then working more as a team leader and scrum master. I discovered that it was primarily the work with the team that I found most developing and stimulating. Working with social security and succeeding in developing the team and testing new ways of working was really rewarding.

To get ahead in this, I chose to go to a consulting firm, I don’t regret it for a second - the new challenges that I have already encountered are enormously rewarding and make me grow as a person but also as a leader.

I am very much looking forward to what further challenges I will encounter.

Life

As for my private life, I married my partner after 12 years together. It’s probably the wisest thing I’ve done in a long time, I’m eternally grateful that we share several passions but also understand the passions that we each have and let these take their place in our lives. The fact that we’ve also found a relationship that suits us very well makes me even more secure in our love and friendship.

Retrospective summary

Life is short. Live with urgency! Don’t put off things you want to do or experience. Stop thinking that things will get better, they won’t if you don’t make active choices to change. Change costs energy and you have to dare to challenge yourself, but every time I do it I realize how much I grow and how much it gives me back.

I am now struggling with a complication of my diabetes that in the worst case scenario will take my sight. I have undergone several different procedures but nothing has so far stopped the bleeding and the damage that risks damaging the macula and with it my sight. What feels a little reassuring is that my right eye is in better condition than my left.

But I also notice that when you go through a crisis, you come with new strengths and ways of dealing with stress and anxiety.

I have definitely learned more about myself through these feelings.