Inspiring Stories

Callan-My Hero

Callan was 7 when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She was going to the restroom a lot which was not normal for her at all. We were at a basketball tournament for her older sister when we first noticed it. I worked at a clinic and discussed the symptoms with her doctor there. She suggested that she come in and have a UA as it could be a UTI but she also said it could be diabetes. I thought there is no way she has diabetes. Boy was I wrong. Her BG was over 300 and when the doctor asked if she had anything to eat and we responded no she immediately stated that we needed to go Lubbock, Texas to be admitted. The tears began to fall and I couldn't believe that our little girl was now going to have to battle a disease for the rest of her life. We were admitted to UMC and received the best pediatric endocrinologist you could ever ask for. She is an amazing doctor. She stated that we caught it extremely early, which was wonderful, and because of that we only stayed in the hospital for 24 hours. But man were we educated in 24 hours with about a months worth of information!!! It was overwhelming and scary. Lots of tears and frustration were shared with our family and our extended family over the next month. But that entire time Callan was a trouper!!! She began to check her sugar and taking the shots like it was nothing. She said I have to do it so there's no point in crying about it. She has said many times, "it's no fair that I have diabetes". She has been on the Medtronic insulin pump now for a full week. She is loving it and adjusting very well. Now I wish we had done it sooner. She is extremely independent with her diabetes and that helps. We participate in the American Diabetes Association Step Out Walk every year, getting involved helps. It will get better, we promise!!!

Jenny Netherland
Sudan, TX

38 years and counting...

When my family and I left for vacation I was a healthy 10 yr old but by the time we returned home, I was a very sick little girl. I had all the symptoms: frequent urination, abundant thirst, blurred vision, and sluggishness. When I started having trouble breathing, my mother called the doctor in the middle of the night and he met us at the hospital. I had developed Keto Acidosis from being misdiagnosed earlier in the week and my sugar was so high they admitted me immediately. That night my life changed forever. Back then, they didn't have home glucometers to check your glucose. You had to use test tubes, a dropper and your urine and you dropped a pill into the tube with your urine that would bubble up and turn a color to tell you if it was within normal range. I've been a Type 1 diabetic now for 38 years and times have changed since that summer of 1976. The advances in medicine are amazing and make diabetes manageable. While hopeful for a cure in my lifetime, here's to another 38 yrs.

Karyl Riley
Kingsland, GA

It's a Marathon

My name is David and I was diagnosed with Liveabetes when I was 33, now 44, I continue to struggle some days and feel like a conqueror on others. This disease have changed my life in positive for the most part, or that is the way to choose to look at it. I choose to call it “Liveabetes” because I don’t like to have a disease that has the sound die” at the beginning.

I chose to take up running a couple of years ago which has changed my life and disease in a dramatic way. Although, running with Liveabetes can certainly have its challenges for sure like hypoglycemia and having to pay special attention to my feet and legs, it has been such a great addition to my life in so many ways. So, I take the Liveabetes as a blessing in that I may never have discovered running had I not been diagnosed. I am now mostly taking long acting insulin and reduced my short acting injections to 0.

Eating is still my biggest challenge and will continue to try and overcome that obstacle but will keep fighting to get it right. Sometimes it can be such a lonely disease as friends and family who do not have it cannot understand the ups and downs but I am trying to find and reach out to others with Liveabetes.

Fight on and never give up and it is my hope someday we find a cure for this disease!

David
Oklahoma City, OK

Strengthening My Body

I have been diabetic for the past 15 years. When I was young, I noticed that I drank and went to the bathroom a lot, but everyone always told my mom that I was just a growing boy. My sister, who is ten years my senior, and my mother were also diagnosed diabetics. At the age of 16, I went for a physical for my driver's permit where they found ketones in my urine. Soon after this, doctors would discover I had a fasting blood sugar of 453. Despite that I felt fine, the doctor said I should have been hospitalized under these conditions. My mom began to cry at this news, but I reassured her that it was not her fault.

"This was the beginning of the biggest struggle in my life." At age 16, I had to learn how to use a syringe and give myself insulin shots, as they were still not sure whether I was Type 1 or Type 2. The hardest part was realizing that I had to start changing some things. While I did make changes, there are things I still struggle with every day. I am probably the pickiest eater on earth, so trying to keep my sugars down and my weight down has been hard. From the diabetes, I have also developed a problem with my kidneys. I need to consistently make sure that my blood pressure is perfect and stay on top of my medications.

"My wife has been my rock and has always been there for me through thick and thin." She always helps me out to try and eat better and has opened the door to many foods that I never would have eaten. Recently I had a heart stent put in and also had a heart attack at 30 years old. This was a revelation that I needed to take better care of myself and help control my diabetes better which I have. I would love to see a cure in my life time

TJ
York, PA

My Biggest Inspiration

This story is about my son, Matthew. He was diagnosed with Type 1 after becoming deathly ill when he was just 6. I knew nothing about diabetes prior to him becoming sick! When he was life-flighted, his sugar was over 1000!!!! All the endocrinologists that have treated him have said how lucky we are to still have him with us. Yes, it is a horrible thing to have to do everyday, checking blood sugars and administering insulin but he takes it like a man. When I'm feeling down, I think of that time and remember how lucky I am to have him. He's my greatest inspiration!

Kelly Mc.
Andover, OH

Still Stunned!

Hi, my name is Mandy! I am a wife and a mother of two great girls. So the story begins.....We were vacationing with my parents on the TX coast for Father's Day weekend. I was using the bathroom ALOT!! My Mom is a T1D and asked if she could take my BS. I was resistant because I thought it was silly but gave in after a bit and it was close to 400. I was stunned but still thought it was to crazy to be true, I'm a healthy woman! I work out and I'm not over weight. So, at my insistence that her meter was broken we continued on with our day at the pool and at the beach. Throughout the day she insisted on checking it several more time and by 7pm it was upwards of 600. She begged me to go to the ER! It was crazy because I felt absolutely fine!! Yes, was I getting up at night every hour to pee and was I drinking like I lived in the Saharrah and still feeling like I was so dehydrated but it's summer, IN TEXAS, it was HOT!! After about an hour of discussing, off my Mom and I went on the 30 min drive back to the mainland and into one of the few places in the world I hate, THE ER! I was diagnosed diabetic but not told what Type and the Dr. sent me on my way with a Metphorman RX. I went to my regular Dr. when I got back home. My A1C was 11.7 and the Metphorman RX was useless because I was Type 1. She put me on Levimir and NovoLog injections 4-6 times a day.

And my Diabetic story begins..... I'm stunned, and sad, and taking it day by day.

Mandy from Texas
Type 1 Diabetic and Hating Every Minute of It, CHEESE :)

Mandy
New Braunfels, TX

Julissa's Diagnosis

My daughter Julissa was 8 years old when she was diagnosed Type1. We were at her brothers little league football game and noticed that she slept through the entire game in the stands, only to wake up to continually go to the bathroom & drink water. Attending a bbq after the game Julissa continued to sleep, the next morning I sent my son to call her for breakfast and she was still sleeping which was a surprise because she is the early bird of the family. When she finally came into the kitchen I immediately noticed there was something wrong with Julissa, her breathing was labored & she was very disoriented. We took her right away to our local hospital, she was taken into triage where they began to check her. I remember the nurse commenting that she was giving off a sweet odor and was going to check her blood sugar we sat quietly waiting for the doctor. Julissa was hooked up to IV fluids because she was so dehydrated, when the doctor finally came in the first thing he asked us was how long our daughter had been diabetic, I remember telling him she was not diabetic clearly realizing that we had no idea he sat down next to us apologized and explained our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and that she was in DKA her blood sugar was 868 and she was going to be transported to a hospital that good better handle her situation. Julissa was transported by ambulance and was in ICU for 4 days before being moved and later released.

Julissa has just turned 14 years old and will be entering high school this fall, she has her good days as well as her bad days. She continuously works at maintaining her blood sugars with a little push here and there, what can you expect from a teenager? She is very active in softball & volleyball and her diabetes does not deter her. We are very optimistic that Julissa will thrive in life!!

Denise Castillo
Indio, CA

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of twelve. I didn't know what it was or how it would affect my life but with the support of my family and friends I managed to make it through.

Through my teenage years I made plenty of mistakes as most teenagers do, such as not eating right and not exercising as I should which lead to chasing my blood sugar levels. In retrospect I'm sure my glucose levels were higher than they should have been. As a young adult I had lost my hypoglycemic sensitivity and suffered from a few seizures throughout the years. My endocrinologist suggested an insulin pump when I was about 28 which I reluctantly agreed to (body image thing). Anyway, I haven't looked back since.

I started a career in nursing the same year I started on my pump. Since then my education includes an Associate Degree in Nursing, a Bachelor Degree in Nursing and most recently a Doctorate in Management Practice in Nurse Anesthesia. I now find myself oftentimes caring for those who were not lucky enough to figure out the benefits of tight control like I did.

I have recently taken up the sport of road cycling and average a little over a 100 miles per week and I feel great! My glucose levels are within normal limits and I am requiring less insulin. I have also come to realize that God has always been there watching over me and helping me to overcome the things that I once thought I couldn't.

Diabetes does not have to ruin your life! TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE AND ALWAYS STRIVE TO DO BETTER TODAY THAN YOU DID YESTERDAY!!!!

Mike
Catlettsburg, KY

Just a part of me

When I was young I noticed I started becoming thirsty all the time, drinking lots of water (easily downing a pint) just to bring some moisture to my mouth. Then it got worse, I started wetting the bed, waking up with stomach pains and being very emotional and moody and losing weight. I lost all energy, and I found it really difficult to wake up in the mornings, and so weak I needed to sleep after a normal day at school. I recognised that more food made me more thirsty and as a result lost my appetite. I was eight years old and weighed just over 3 stone, which meant I was severely underweight.
I kept complaining to my parents and eventually saw a doctor. My grandmother was diabetic and my parents were recognising the signs in me. A simple test from a urine sample confirmed it.
Growing up with diabetes was difficult, especially at Christmas, Easter or birthday parties where there was always a lot of sweet food about. My family and friends made sure there was always something there for me, even if it was just a sugar free jelly, which made me feel better about it all. I remember once at the end of a school year, my teacher bought everyone in my class a bar of chocolate, and then proceeded to give me a pack of sugar free mints. These kind gestures made it all so much easier to live with.
I still had fun though, like a "normal" child would - I was a member of the school netball team and helped them win a few trophies along the way. Now I dont play as much sport but play music instead, playing clarinet in my band at university for the past four years.
I am now a fully qualified maths teacher and aim to support any diabetic pupils I teach as part of my job. Diabetes didnt stop me achieving my goal, and shouldn't stop anyone else either. Its part of who I am but it does not define me. I just live with it.

Anonymous
Sittingbourne, United Kingdom

Diagnosed with Type 1.....in Guatemala

On June 18, 2010, I was a 20 year old college basketball player who was heading to Guatemala on a Missions/Basketball trip with a Christian organization called Athletes in Action. We went there to put on basketball clinics at elementary schools, play games against Guatemala club teams, and most importantly, share the Gospel (the Good News about Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection).

The trip was truly life changing but the last few days of the trip I got very sick. I threw up for almost 48 straight hours and was taken to a clinic where they thought I was just dehydrated. They gave me some fluids and sent me on my way.

On June 30th, we were to fly back to the U.S. I woke up around 2am that morning, throwing up again. An ambulance was sent to my hotel and they checked me over. Everything seemed normal except that my blood sugar was around 500. They told me that they had to take me to the hospital even though I was supposed to be getting on a plane in a few hours. They loaded me up in the ambulance and we headed to the hospital.

The next thing I remember was waking up. It was 9am and I was in the ICU at the hospital in Guatemala City. My first thought: "SHOOT!!!!! I missed my flight home!!!" It was there, the doctor told me I had Type 1 Diabetes. I was shocked, in denial, sad, and angry. But then he told me something that I will never forget: "The Man above was looking over you. If you would have flown home with your teammates, you would have gone into a Diabetic Coma and could have died."

I was able to fly home on July 3rd and since coming home, I have had so much love and support from my friends, family, doctors, coaches, and teammates. It is amazing how God has used this experience to bring joy and open up doors to speak at different churches and to encourage other Type 1 Diabetics.

God Bless

James 1:2-4

Josh Henry
Winterset, IA