Inspiring Stories

Don't give up!

I am 70 years old and have been a diabetic since 1988. At first it was scary, thinking I was going to die! I was on oral meds at first then they just up and quit working and then I was put on insulin injections.... Like most people I was not fond of shots! Then I said to myself, get a grip, I'm not done living yet, I CAN do this shot thing! That was waaaay back about 20 years ago and I now do the shots without giving it a thought. I test 4 times a day. I am on Novalog and Lantus. The "key" to keeping your sugar under control is......... maintaining good eating habits of course ( I do fall off the wagon ever so often) and keeping your meals at the same time every day if at all possible. We eat at 7 a.m , noon and 5 p.m. My dr's are very happy with my A1C. I will admit, at holidays it is very hard to maintain......WILL POWER isn't what it's cracked up to be........haha. But I do have a few bites of 'off limit' holiday foods. All in all I am doing quite well for an old lady. Hubby helps me to...........hon, should you be eating that???......... *busted*.
One thing that has improved over my diabetic years it the fact I can use the 'pens' now instead of the vials and syringes. MUCH better to carry with me.
So hang in there everyone, once you get your meds where they keep your sugars on track, you will be fine.

nancy
kennerdell, PA

Diabetic since 2007

On May 18, 2007 my life changed forever. I fell, fractured my hip, had a steel rod and some screws inserted into my fermur bone. While in recovery, a doctor I did not know came into my room and asked me did I know I was diabetic? Needless to say, drugged up and recovering from my fracture, this was the last thing I needed to hear. I was shocked and yet some how it made sense. Prior blood work had not shown anything. I was 57 yrs. old when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I control my condition with diet & oral medication. Have not had any complications.

In 2011 I had a total hysterectomy due to uterine cancer. Have been cancer free for a little over two years. I would say for the most part, I have diabetes but it does not have me! What has changed most is being aware of taking my medication and remembering not to skip meals. It is a daily routine that I have adjusted too. It is not easy, always on my mind and yet I have managed to go on with life. Life is not easy and this is just one more thing one learns to deal with. The older I get the more I realize to just take it day to day and be thankful every morning that I have a full day ahead of me. My family gives me strength and my God gets me through every day. I refuse to let my condition define who I am.

Be kiner than is necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Judy A. Smith
Dumfries, VA

I Manage

I was born with Chronic Pancreatitis and for many years I took enzymes. At age 10 I was told I could possibly develop Diabetes because of the enzymes I was prescribed, at the time I didn’t understand and never gave it much thought. Eight years later at age 18 my Pancreas flared up and while hospitalized, I was told I was a borderline diabetic and at the time still I paid it no mind. One year later at 19 after being hospitalized again I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes and prescribed a pill. One month later I was expecting my first child and put on insulin. It was so much to take it at one time but, I managed. Every time I took a shot I often thought “why me?” But, I managed. At age 24 I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. It has been 8 years and at age 27 it’s a little easier I work from home; I’m married, with four kids. I’d be lying if I said I don’t forget to check my blood sugar and take my insulin sometimes I’m human but, for the most part I try everything in my power to take care myself because I have four little people that need me to be around; they are my motivation to never give up because it gets hard but, with God and family cheering me on I’m still here with no other health issues. I’m grateful.

Niesha
tulsa, OK

Ty Martin age 6

This is Ty he has Type One Diabetes and is not letting that get in his way of doing anything! He loves playing t-ball and will be starting coach pitch next year, he plays basketball, and enjoys playing with his two little brothers. Ty will be in first grade this year and is an expert at his diabetes. We found out Ty had diabetes when he was 21 months old, he had been sick for a few days and was extremely thirsty, urinating out of his diapers, not eating , and then started breathing really heavy so we took him to the ER. They starting doing blood work, and called his pediatrician in to tell us he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. I had never heard of Type One Diabetes so for a mom this was very frightening for it to happen to my baby boy. They rushed us to OU Children's hospital where we stayed for a week and learned everything we needed to know to take care of him.

Looking back i thank God he was diagnosed at such a young age I do wish is never had happened BUT if it was going to happen sometime in his life I am very thankful it was then. All Ty knows is to check blood sugars before he eats and that he has to have insulin for his food. He doesn't know what its like to eat when he wants or to not have to be poked every day.

Ty has been diagnosed for 5 years now, currently wearing a pump, can check his blood sugar, give himself insulin through his pump. I asked him how he felt about it and he says "Good". Its his normal life to him he knows no different. He asked me, "why did u name me Ty? Why didn't you name me Tanir (brother) so I don't have to be diabetic?" He doesn't understand why he has to have diabetes and neither do we but God gave him diabetes for a reason we will find out sometime later in life!

Brook Martin
Seminole, OK

Kicking diabetes in the butt, 25 times

I suspected I had Type II diabetes for at least a year before my "diagnosis" in 2010. I was overweight, had a lousy family history, and had had an ovarian cyst, which can be a development factor in women. On a Monday morning I had a blood test before I was to see a new doctor, and at noon she called and told me my sugar was too high and to test 3 times a day. I'm like, I didn't even know I was diabetic! Turns out she had confused me with my aunt, who was also a patient with the disease, and had a similar name and address. I have since left this doctor.

But no matter how I found out, I had it, and it was time to start fighting it. A year earlier I had started biking and walking regularly, and was enjoying doing road races for charity. So the first thing I asked the diabetes nurse was if could still do my half-marathon in June? Absolutely, she said. That first one wasn't easy: I basically made it a symbol of kicking diabetes in the butt. I didn't eat enough before the event, and that combined with a previous injury contributed to a painful fall. But I was so determined to finish that I hid my bloody elbow from the first responders so they wouldn't pull me off the course. But I proudly earned my medal.

I completed my 25th half-marathon in July, 2013. I've had no serious sugar problems during a race after that first one, and always carry a few granola bars just in case.

It has not always been easy. I have a group of running buddies, and after many long races they'll be chomping away at seven brownies each, and if overdo it or the beer, of course my blood sugar pays for it the next day. But I generally don't let it get me down. Exercise really does help. My family does worry that I'm overextending myself sometimes, but I am enjoying life and living it on my terms, despite having diabetes.

Patty Grove
Rothschild, WI

Diagnosis... Secondary Diabetes

On October 28th 2010, I got a diagnosis I had been living under the shadow of for 5 years. I was diagnosed with Secondary Diabetes by my new doctor. Secondary Diabetes is a rare form, less than 2% of diabetes reported is this type. I also have Chronic Pancreatitis. My pancreas had suffered so much damage over the 5 years since I had gotten my first episode of pancreatitis, that it doesn't make enough insulin anymore. I started using insulin pens to deliver the insulin my pancreas can't make enough of anymore. I was very scared at first diagnosis but, it is not so scary to manage my condition anymore. I learned to count carbs and figure out insulin dosages. I test my BG 3 to 4 times a day. I am doing quite well actually my most recent A1C was a 6.5. I have read many books about diabetes and find lots of helpful information to help manage my condition online. My goal is to be in the 5% Club and I'm not too far from it! It's not impossible to live with Diabetes it just takes more planning! We can manage our condition as we hope for a cure!

Cindy Smith
Duluth, MN

My Journey

At the tender young age of 12 i received the biggest surprise of my life..i was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. After my mom noticed i was taken guite a few potty breaks over night she known right away something was wrong..as my mom suffers from T1D as well. A short week later and many hospital visits later it was confirmed. At such a young age i had no idea what i was walking into and the hard work i would have to put in for the rest of my life. I admit in the beginning i was scared and i struggled with my new lifestyle..but at the ripe mature age of 30 now..I've overcome my fears and its made me a better and stronger person in the long run.

As an adult you take on all the responsibility of staying in the health..with any illness you maybe suffing from..so stay strong and focused..8 months ago i found out i was pregnant with my first child..and i was scared to death..but with a lot of support from my medical staff and family i have a beautiful healthy baby boy due in a few weeks..its definitely hard staying healthy for your child but in the end its all worth that smiling face.

Tia Marie
Upper Marlboro, MD

Not my Story

My daughter was diagnosed in 2009, when she was 12 years old. She is incredibly brilliant and independant. We just came through one of the many storms we/she will have to face. She has been managing her own BGL, without input or help from me. If I had tried to talk to her ask about her sugar levels, I was met with resistance and was essentially told to butt out. This past week, she has been sick with a cold, which turned into vomiting. Friday night, I decided to check her blood glucose levels myself because vomiting is not a normal sympton of a cold. BGL was 563. Rescue was called. Diabetic ketoacidosis set in, and she was hospitalized. She hadn't checked her blood sugar, at all, in the four days leading up to this episode. We are home now, and she asked me to start managing her diabetes for a while. Thank the Lord she survived, thank the Lord she learned from this experience and realized she can't go it alone; that I am here for her too. (Cute EMTs were a bonus, too)

~ Happy to still have my daughter

Kelsey
Williamsburg, VA

Second Chance

As many diabetics may have experienced, I over 40 years ago doctors didn't seem to know what was wrong with me. I became more and more ill until I when into a coma and immediately drove to the hospital. But what Diabetes did for me was to give me a second chance with life at a very young age. As I looked around in the hospital some of these children were not going to make it but I was. So I learned to live with Diabetes but not become the disease. I would pursue a purpose in what I was going to do in my life and did. And this was all because of my experience at a young age of almost dying but given a second chance.

stacey
soulsbyville, CA

Two daughters with Juvenile Diabetes

My youngest daughter Ally was 4 years old when I noticed she was extremely thirsty and wetting the bed at night. After a week I took her to the doctor which is when they did the glucose test and said that Ally had glucose in her urine and she had juvenile diabetes.

As a single parent of three children there have been many struggles and as you know insulin, test strips and doctors appointments can cost a pretty penny but I worked hard and learned to get by. Ally will be 18 in November and two years ago her sister was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Having two children now with diabetes is tough, you learn to deal with it and feel blessed that its nothing terminal and something that can be maintained. There have been many hospital trips and a few admissions but you keep faith and try and understand how your children feel and what you can do for them. I find that most people don't understand diabetes and tend to judge. You don't understand unless your in that position.

Ally has an insulin pump and does very well with it while her sister Jorden, who is now 20 is newly diagnosed and using the insulin pen. Ally just graduated from high school and will be continuing her education at a community college close by and is studying to be a nurse practitioner in the Diabetes field so that she can assist children and give back to the community. Juvenile Diabetes is a very high maintenance disease and there is not a day that goes by where I wish that I could trade places with my two beautiful girls. I have faith that in their lifetime we will find a cure.

olivia gonzalez
santa clara, CA