I have always been an optimistic thinker with a flair for sarcastic and witty comments....and I have found that dealing with a chronic disease is no different. In fact, it has been my saving grace in dealing with Type 1 Diabetes since I was 13 years old.
Now, at 30, I still try to keep my attitude up, even when complications from this horrible disease sometimes set me back. When I was diagnosed, I truly did not realize the severity of type one, nor did I realize how life changing it would be. I was a teenager and naturally thin. I am 5'10 and was already close to that at the time of being diagnosed and dropped down well below 100 pounds. I had no energy to even walk and found simple tasks at home and school to be more than challenging. I was only diagnosed with Strep Throat and it took me collapsing in my living room floor, near death, before we realized this was way more than the common sore throat that my pediatrician had originally diagnosed.
Blood sugars were over 1000 at the hospital and my family quickly realized that I was alive solely by the grace of God. I have had horrible trips to the ICU and days where I feel 100% OVER IT. Thankfully those are few and far between and my positive attitude prevails. I am more than thankful for a mother and father that would do anything for me, support me continually and push me to live outside of what I have been slated to deal with in life. It has taught me that the saying is true: Everyone you meet is fighting a battle. I think about diabetes every minute of my life...and while that is unfortunate, that will also keep me alive.
Lexington, KY
