The story starts in 2003.
When you're five years old, Disney world seems amazing. But on the third or fourth day of vacation, my parents noticed that something not-amazing was going on. I would drinking huge bottles of water in minutes and then having to go to the bathroom a couple of minutes later. That process would repeat. My dad knew that was a sign for diabetes, but my mom thought I had a bladder infection or something. Either way, I needed to get it checked out. My mom rented a van and took me to a hospital. A few blood checks and urine samples later, the doctor confirmed my dad's theory. I was a type one diabetic.
Since then, I've been hospitalized only once because of my diabetes. It was when I was 8 because I had the flu, I kept throwing up, and my blood sugar kept going down. Other than that, No diabetes hospitalizations.
Fast forward a year- I was nine. My parents sent me to my first diabetic camp. I ended up LOVING it. I met my best friend through camp and I loved being normal- at least for a week. I ended up going until I had to stop going as a camper. I plan to be a counselor in training and then a counselor.
I switched from shots to a MiniMed pump at 14, which I love. I'm seventeen now with a A1C of 7.7. I play softball, sing in choir, go to youth group, the beach, the movies- pretty much anywhere a normal teen can go. I encourage others with type 1 diabetes to not let it control you. You control it, remember? Just keep your sugars in check, bolus for what you eat, and keep the A1C down. As long as you got it controlled, there isn't anything you can't do :D
New Buffalo, MI
