Inspiring Stories

The Long Road and Life's Journeys!

I was diagnosed with Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes at age 5. After a week of sickness in which the doctors thought i had the flu, It has nearly killed me and disabled me from doing the things I love.

I must say i have my highs and lows (literally). I must say in this world that even though diabetes feels like a curse its a beautiful thing it makes people who they are. if you ask any diabetic if they would change it or so to say take it back or not have it i guarantee you the response you'll get will be no... now hear me out that when i say they wouldn't take it back i'm not saying they wouldn't want diabetes what ultimately i'm saying is that the opportunity and the responsibility is indescribable. its not only a disease but it has meaning it has made me who i am today the person I've wanted to be. It has made me... me

Lets find a cure!

-Aaron

Aaron Spear
Greenwood, IN

My Story

I was diagnosed with type one diabetes when I was 11 years old. I started loosing a lot of weight, thirsty all the time and was going to the bathroom a lot. The day I was diagnosed started out with a visit to the doctor. The doctor could tell i was very sick just by looking at me. When I stepped on the scale, I was only 70 pounds. Once I was admitted into the hospital, I spent four nights and five days there, one of those being in the ICU. The doctors told my parents that they were surprised I hadn't slipped into a diabetic coma. I was a lot sicker than everyone thought. On the outside I looked very skinny, but the inside I was so sick. My blood sugar was in the 900's, it's a good thing I went to the doctor when I did. I was put on Humalog and Lantus and stayed on syringes for about 2 years. Then I moved up to the pump and was on that for about 3 years. I started getting tired of the pump, I felt like I was being held back, so I got off of it and went back to injections with Novolog and Lantus and have been on them since. All of the times in the doctors offices helped me make my decision to go into the medical field. I am now a Freshman in college and majoring in Radiology. I may have been faced with diabetes but I have not let that stop me from doing everything I've wanted to do. I like to say I am a person with diabetes, not a diabetic. I may have diabetes but it's not holding me back from living up to my dreams.

Paige Hastert
Machesney Park, IL

Rise, Thrive, and Survive

Around Thanksgiving of 2000, I had been lethargic, fatigued, & had an uncontrollable craving for orange juice. I didn't know what was wrong, but had attributed it to the fact I was going through puberty. I had eaten more than my fair share of food on Thanksgiving Day and the day after, I was in pain. I slept all day and my mom had a friend who noticed I was severely dehydrated. She urged my mother to take me to the hospital.

I arrived at the hospital, they ran a few tests, and doctors discover I was in the throws of DKA and was formally diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on November 25th, 2000. I spent 2 days in ICU, learning how to count carbs, test my blood sugar, giving myself insulin and learning how to eat on a schedule. I had lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks, so eating 6 meals a day was a major adjustment. Learning how to make better food choices was also something I had a hard time doing.

I found myself depressed for a number of days until I spoke to my doctor. He told me that I have to care about my body and there was no room for error. If I didn't care about myself, I would end up right back in the hospital. From then on, I looked at my diabetes as a daily challenge. Something that forced me to grow, improve, and tackle head on to get to where I want and need to be: in optimal control of this condition.

I've had naysayers tell things that I couldn't do as a diabetic, with being muscular and athletic being among things people swore I could never be. However, it's my faith in Christ and my determination to prove them wrong that has allowed me to have my lowest a1c of 6.9 and to be 227lbs and just 10% body fat. Diabetes is just a hurdle that can be and must be jumped daily. It can only keep you bound if you allow it to.

Marcus LaCour
Cincinnati, OH

Type 1 Diabetes at age 9

My son, JJ, was like any other nine year old boy. We live in Georgia and the weather is pretty hot and humid from spring through fall. It was in May that I noticed something was wrong. JJ was outside playing in 98 degree weather and he had a heavy sweater on. He told me he was cold. Over the next week he dropped suddenly 20 pounds! When I asked him what was going on with him, he told me kids were picking on him for being fat, so I assumed he was starving himself. I was trying to get him to eat. We took a trip that weekend to the beach. He refused to eat while out for dinner and when we arrived at the hotel he just looked so sick to me. I had an overwhelming feeling at he was dying. I noticed he kept getting up to go to the bathroom and was drinking a lot of water. Diabetes does not run in either side of his family, so it never entered my mind. I finally told my husband that we had to leave immediately and get him back home to the doctor, which we did! The doctor ran tests and sent us home. As I walked into the door of our home, the phone rang. It was the doctor! She told me to immediately take JJ to the ER and that she was sorry to inform me that he was diabetic. I was shocked! She said his blood sugar was 1,250 and he could go into a coma at any time. I panicked and rushed him to the hospital. He was admitted and stayed for the entire week! They taught me how to take care of his type 1 insulin dependent diabetes. I remember crying and being so scared for him. They came to the conclusion that a virus must of attacked and killed his pancreas and that is how he become diabetic. He is now almost 22 years old and on an insulin pump.

Laurie Morris
Augusta, GA

Type 1 Diabetes & Me

My name is Noah Rhoades and although I have Type 1 Diabetes i don't let it control me, I am 12 years old and I play Baseball. Although I have my lows I still play like a regular player, and get treated like a regular player. While sometimes I get asked "Is your blood sugar okay?" I honestly (while im in the middle of a game) I completely forget about my diabetes and enjoy myself.

But I honestly do not like my diabetes I sometimes cry, Whine, and even throw temper tantrums. But I just wanted to let you know even with all those i still manage to do everything a non-diabetic would do.

So honestly i want to let everyone know diabetes only controls your life IF YOU LET IT!!!

so everyone should accept it, but not let it ruin their lives.

Noah Rhoades
Jewett City, CT

Me and Diabetes

Hi, the first time I met diabetes I was nineteen years old and that was in 1981. Considering that no one in my family history had dealt with diabetes, I would be the first. I have three brothers and three sisters and I am the youngest. I have to say, it was a shock and I was feeling very confused. I didn't know much about it except the my brother-in-law had type II and his type was totally different than type I, which is what I was diagnosed with and then hospitalized. I was scared and it was hard...I had to learn how to eat differently, they tested my sugar periodically and was told that I would have to take insulin for the rest of my life. I was admitted into the hospital on my twentieth birthday and stayed for two and half weeks.I had to learn to take care of myself. I left the hospital and gained some of my weight back and was feeling better. I read everything I could get my hands to gain knowledge of this disease. I was going to be in control.

At 51 years old, I am still living with it and I have seen so many changes in treatments for diabetes and I can tell you that we have come a long way since 1981. I thank God that I am still here and have been able to help some friends and family members with the disease. A couple of family members have been diagnosed with diabetes and my knowledge has helped me answer their questions. My attitude has changed and I no longer ask "why". I watch what I eat, I work out three-four times a week and there are new medications out there that have helped me. I have lost 50 lbs. and I have never felt better.

I am thankful for everything I have and that I was given the strength and the support of my family and friends for always looking out for me and being there when needed. Thank you!

God bless.

Carmen

Carmen Robreno
Astoria, NY

i was diagnosed at 8 years old

When i was 8 years old, my stomach was killing me, my mother thought it was my appendix so we went to the hospital. after being there almost all night, the doctor finally came in with a sugar machine and insulin. My mom kept saying "you must have the wrong person, i'm here because my daughter has an appendix". As the doctor kept talking he explain that i had diabetes, my first question was, i am going to die? as i grew older i learned what diabetes could do, as my grandfather had passed away. i went a couple of times at the hospital, i get sick easily. i'm just 14 years old and i find it harder than ever watching kids eat sugar while i get to hear, no sweetie you can't eat sugar. all i want is to be better, not have to worry about waking up the next morning, i honestly want to find a cure and i'm 100% sure everyone living with diabetes wants to find one to. January 14-15 2008 was the year my life had change forever. I'm a teenager, i'm not always home to take my insulin on time and I'm scared to bring my insulin with me because i always fear people thinking i'm taking drugs. I am a fighter, but i won't fight for ever. we all need to find a cure for diabetes. my sugar are always up :/and I'm trying to get the pump but i'm not good to keep my sugar on a good level, i don't wake up at a normal time, and i always take my insulin later than i should and when my sugars are high i get mad and all grumpy .but without my mother, i couldn't of been here today, she is the one keeping me alive and forcing me to get better witch is my goal <3

Pascale Huneault
Ottawa, Canada

Claire's Story

Claire was diagnosed with Leukemia in September 2011, and part of her treatment involved steroids, which work with the chemo. She immediately developed steroid-induced diabetes, which we were told would go away between steroid pulses; and it did, for the first year. And then in August 2012, we found her bgl no longer returned to normal...some testes were done and we found out her A1C was 6.1, and they also found she had the GAD65 antibody. We were crushed...all signs pointed toward T1, on top of Leukemia...and she was only one year into her 2.5 year chemo treatment. We managed to get Claire into an NIH trial for cancer survivors who develop Endocrine issues as a result of treatment, and they did a whole series of tests. She tested positive for THREE genetic markers for T1; that coupled with the fact that T1 is inherent on Claire's father's side of the family was pretty discouraging. But at least we had a good idea of what to expect. 3 January 2014 marked Claire's last day of chemo; so now we wait and watch. In September 2013 Claire started using the Omnipod pump, and loves the normalcy it has restored for her, especially after 2 long years of injections. Claire has always pushed on though, and always lives her life to the fullest, despite all obstacles. In August 2012 she had her port removed from her chest (even though she still had 1.5 years of chemo left), so that she could return to playing travel soccer. Regardless of the fatigue and sickness she felt from chemo, and recurring ketones, and bouts of extreme hyper and hypoglycemia, she never stopped playing, and proving to herself that she is strong enough to face whatever comes her way. She is my hero!

Stephanie Broadhead
California, MD

how i became diabetic

I was diagnosed at the age of 19 in 2011, Diabetes runs in my family but I never thought it would skip generations to me. Mine is different from normal type 1 and here's how....

One week every three months I became sick and it was always like clockwork, and I was in so much pain that the only way I was able to make myself comfortable was to crouch into a ball on my side in my bed, and that was how I would spend the whole week. I had no appetite but was drinking like there was no water left on the earth. I went to several doctors who told me that it was ether a really bad UTI or kidney stones, and they told me to drink plenty of Gatorade to cover the amounts of drinks I was consuming for my electrolytes. Sugar!!!!!! :/

It wasn't till I was at work one day and I was getting my pain again, it would usually start in the chest then work its way around to my stomach, but this time I was coughing up blood. So I decided to go to the ER, they checked me out and gave me two bags of fluid but I couldn't pee so they immediately took me to ICU and that's when they started putting tubes down my throat and the next thing I knew I woke up two weeks later, being told my the doctors that I had been in a medical induced coma because all of my organs were shutting down and that I had pancreatitis, my trig levels where in the 10,000s, which is why my diabetes is different, but then again every diabetic is different. I can't eat any red meat, alcohol, not a lot of carbs, and I have to watch the fat in my blood or I could have another attack. Its a daily struggle of 4 injections a day and pills.

But I'm not going to let it control my life, I can still live like everyone else just in a different way :)

rebekah watts
palm beach county, FL

The Transition

The Transition
Oops! Oh No! What Now? Diagnosed with diabetics, the first fears and thoughts that ran through my being was What Now? So as I walked the parking lot leaving the doctor’s office, the first challenge was accepting the fact that I had a chronic condition. I turned to my sustainer, God give me the ability to accept this, and to help me learn how to fight the effects of this condition. Thus began a long battle of learning as much about diabetes as possible for a somewhat educated man. How did I learn? My first step was to find a provider (Doctor) that would take time to share with me the reasons for the medicines and what they did. I began developing a medical team of experts that understood their individual fields of expert, such as circulatory, kidneys, heart, weight, and the type of food to eat. It became a life style of living, what I can eat, and what to avoid, and keeping active. My success is that my diabetes is very well controlled, and I live each day to look forward to live more days. Therefore, at 67 years old I retired from a career of professional photography, with one major goal. That goal is to serve God and bless people, and for my wife and I to enjoy whatever life we have left. We love camping. The transition continues.

Mitch DeCanter
Guntown, MS