I was diagnosed at 11 years old with type 1. I was home alone and could not stop drinking iced tea with sugar. I was just pouring the sugar because I could not re-hydrate myself. My mom came home from work one night because my older sister called her and said that I looked deathly. My moms boss was a RN at our local hospital and told her to take me down immediately. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me until my father told one of the nurses that he was borderline diabetic. As they were pumping glucose into me, and getting ready to do a spinal tap, one of the nurses ran my blood and my glucose level was 1367. The highest they ever saw. I was immediately taken off the glucose and straight fluids. I was airlifted to the nearest children's hospital and spent 2 weeks there. Most of the time in a diabetic coma. The doctors and nurses were not sure if I would be "normal" or have brain function. When I came out of the coma, I was myself, just with Diabetes. I was told that I may never be able to have children. However, 3 years ago, I gave birth to my beautiful, healthy daughter. I am here because of taking control of my own life, even at a young age. I was not going to let diabetes define me. It will be 16 years ago on January 28th, that I was diagnosed... but I still do everything that anyone without diabetes does. Don't let diabetes define you. Take control and live life to the fullest like I did.

Julia
Key West, FL