When I was just two years old I remember being so thirsty I was drinking gallons of water while going pee on the toilet at the same time. At the time, my grandmother (a nurse) urged my mother to take me to the doctor because I was showing signs of diabetes. The doctors took some blood tests and sent me home. A few days later the doctor called my mother and informed her that she needed to rush me to the nearest emergency room. I remember laying on the backseat floor, dizzy, moaning and struggling to breathe with intense chest pain. When I was admitted to the hospital, my blood sugar was over 1000! My parents had no idea what having a type 1 diabetic child would mean and now they had to explain this to their two year old. When I was told I had diabetes, I remember the first thing I asked my mother was, "Mom, if I have diabetes, does that mean I'm gonna die?" After explaining to me that I was in fact not going to die, my mother blamed herself and questioned what she did wrong for her child to be diagnosed with diabetes. Growing up, I struggled accepting the disease, often not taking my blood sugar or refusing to take my shots. Now, after battling with diabetes for 17 long years, I am currently on an insulin pump and my A1C is better than it has ever been. I have graduated with an associate's degree and now I am currently attending MSU. I have diabetes, diabetes doesn't have me! I am just one example that having diabetes does not mean you have to die!
I am diabetic and proud!
Lansing, MI
