Inspiring Stories

My Unexpected Gift

I got an unexpected gift for my 21st birthday in 1986... I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The doctor asked me how I was walking around when by all rights I should have been in a coma. We started out with diabetes pills and it has been a struggle to getting it controlled and for me to lose weight.

Through the last 27 years of this constant fight to gain the upper hand, I have been down in the 50s and way up in the 600s or even higher. I've battled cataracts in both eyes at age 35. I've had my eyes zapped with lasers to keep the retinopathy at bay and I've even had to get a shot in each eye (recently) to battle the retinopathy. I've gone through so much but it has allowed me to gain confidence and strength. I have become stronger and was able to carry a child to full term finally after 3 miscarriages. My son will be 13 in October and even though he tests my patience daily, he is my greatest accomplishment.

We have finally found the right mix of medicines and my blood sugars have been in the 100s to high 200s but so much better controlled than in recent years. I'm hoping they find a cure for diabetes in the next few years; but, for now, I will keep fighting the good fight and pray my son is spared this disease.

Cathy Swiger-Lincoln
Louisville, KY

Diabetes Does Not Play Favorites

I am Kim and this is my story.

I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes 7 yrs ago. I had worked many years as an EMT on an
ambulance and knew all the signs and symptoms, I took care of diabetic patients regularly.
I injured my back 7 yrs ago and could no longer work, shortly after that, the signs and symptoms
that I knew so well were happening to me. I am not over weight and have never indulged in sweets.
I was very active. When the Doctor told me that I was diabetic, I broke into tears because I have
seen first hand what diabetes does. It hits you from head to toe. I don't know how long I went
undiagnosed, but by the time I was diagnosed I already had numbness and tingling in my fingers
and toes, yep most all diabetics have neuropathy, unfortunately for me it's pretty bad. I take special
precautions with my diabetes, proper diet, what exercise I can do and meds. My Dr. says my BMI is
perfect, but I still have uncontrolled diabetes, too high and too low. i have everything that comes
along with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. I have now learned that my father's
side of the family has diabetics. God gives me the strength to endure each and every day although
there are good days and bad days, I never lose faith. My God is stronger than diabetes.
NEVER GIVE UP!

Kim Zeller
Mt. Pleasant, SC

50-Year Medalist

I was 15 and admitted to the hospital on November 22, 1962 to have my wisdom teeth extracted. My doctor came in and asked me for another urine sample. Something wasn’t right. My parents suddenly appeared, looking worried. What was wrong and why all the sad faces? Oops, here comes my doctor. Great, now there’s a party going on in my hospital room and instead of people wearing party hats, they’re all sporting somber faces. My doctor announced that my blood sugar was quite high. My mother worked for our family doctor and, after my wisdom teeth were extracted, my mother took me to work with her and I was given a glucose tolerance test. I was instructed to take Dymelor and was told that would make my pancreas produce insulin. When my urine sugars were still too high, I was put on another oral medication, Ornase. It soon became clear, oral medication was not helping and I started taking insulin shots. Here I am a budding teenager and I felt my life was over and I sank into a deep pre-adult depression. 51 years later, I am still on insulin however, the type and dosage of insulin is completely different from what it was when I first started. I test my blood sugars at least eight times a day, sometime more. Was I always careful about what I ate? Not as careful as I know I should have been but I was diligent about taking my insulin. I have diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy and I am a magnet for every microbial bacterium. However, I can see without glasses, walk without the use of a cane or walker and I am still active. Last year, I received a 50-Year medal from Joslin and a 50-year medal from Eli Lilly. I am grateful for the advances made in the treatment of diabetes but we still have a long way to go. Every thought, every action I take is made with my diabetes in mind but I am still alive and, as long as I am alive, hope is alive as well.

Anonymous
Sacramento, CA

The story of my type II Diabetes

Hi, My name is Sara. I am a type II Diabetic, and this is my story:
I have been having bladder control issues since 2011. I went to my doctor, and he tested me and said I was fine and gave me some pills for bladder control. FF to 2013. I never notice the signs. My kids did... My water consumption increased, my urine output increased, I couldn't seem to get enough. I was drinking around 180oz a day of water, tea, anything i could wet my lips with. In march of 2013 I went to the emergency room for what I thought was a cyst on my inner thigh.. the doctor starts question me asking if anyone else had one and if i was diabetic. I told him no. He asked the nurse to get a sugar reading on me, It was 360! he then told me I was diabetic and the thing I thought was a cyst was actually cellulitis I told my kids I was diabetic and they said "mom, we already knew that because of all the water you drink". I scheduled an appt the next day with my physician and she did a A1C on me which came back at an 11.8. I am now on Metformin Xr 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. My last A1C i am now down to an 8.1. Still have a way to go but slowly getting it under control.

Sara Hernandez
Victoria, TX

The day that changed our lives forever

My intelligent, polite, handsome son was diagnosed on Oct 7, 2012. Weeks before he became very ill he was drinking lots of water, urinating a lot, eating more and losing weight. I wasn't sure what was wrong until he became very weak. His father took him to the ER that Sunday morning and he was instantly diagnosed with T1D. His blood sugar was over 600! Though diabetes runs in my family, I never knew the signs. He had just seen his pediatrician to get his shots for 6th grade on his birthday in August. However, they did not do a blood or urine test. Life has changed for us tremendously. The past school year was very tough for my son but he's done such a great job managing things. I'm a strong person but this has been the toughest thing I've ever had to deal with. Some days I'm so depressed I can barely get out of bed. Just imagine how my son feels everyday! He's in great spirits for the most part but he has his sad days where he shuts down. He gets so tired sometimes and his weight fluctuates often. I'm going to remain positive for him for I know that things will get better with time. He joined a local T1D group called Hot Shots. Also, me and his father joined a local group called POD (parents of diabetes). It's great to be amongst other kids and adults who know what you're going through. I recommend to every parent to always get a blood test for your kids when they go to their pediatrician. Also, to pay close attention to the signs. I can't help but to think of how long he may have been sick and we weren't aware of the signs. We are trusting and believing in God for a miracle to reverse our sons diagnosis. But if He doesn't, we will accept this as a platform for his life's testimony to help others along the way. Blessings to everyone who has this terrible disease...we are all survivors....XOXOXO

Riunita Martin
Madison, AL

the ins and outs of living with diabeties.

My story starts when I was 20. I was having a gynecologist visit for follow up after ovarian cysts removal. She came back in and looked paled. You really do not want that kind of face on a doctor. She told me to get up to the hospital right away because I had so much ketones, it was off the chart. Ketones, huh? Needless to say we all know what that word means down the road. I went through that awful test that left me sick for days and sure enough my life changed in a blink of an eye. DIABETES!
It has been a ever-changing challenge over these years. I am now thirty seven
and things are not any easier. The challenges of keeping balance is stifling to say the least. Changing meds all the time and now on insulin.
I have a weekly pep rally to keep my spirits up on this journey. I go out to eat and enjoy whatever I want without looking at numbers. This gives me the freedom to award myself and be normal for that one day, than back to the grind stone we go. I know it will be with me for life unless a cure can be found. I have my screaming moment fits ,but mostly just agree that it is there and challenge myself to new opportunities to make it easier to live with.
We can do this people! In ways we are stronger than most people out there. We know what it is to fight and never give up. Remember God did not make junk. He was taking a walk one day and found all these peaces. Not wanting to waste a single one, he took all the care of his finest treasure and put the peaces together and here we are! Blessings to each one of you!

Anna Ross
Ione, OR

I am a Type 1 Diabetes Survivor

It was 12 days prior to my 21st birthday in 1994. I went to the doctor because I had lost so much weight and was so tired all of the time. I had gotten down to 102 lbs. at 5'3" tall. I had been living 2000 miles away from my family. I was very lost and confused about life all together. I had been working many overtime hours to support and to get the "things" that I wanted out of life. I was drinking cokes all the time, waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, could barely make it up one flight of stairs breathing heavily and calling into work for reasons that I could not explain.The doctor took my blood and a urinalysis and told me it was probably because I had been working too much and to get some rest. I felt that it was more than that. I got a call the next day to come back into the office. The doctor proceeded to tell me that my blood sugar was 418. He told me I had diabetes. I then spent the rest of the day with a diabetes educator learning how to take insulin shots and a little bit about nutrition. That night I cried many tears. I remember thinking that I had a chocolate cake every year for my birthday for as long as I could remember and that I would not be able to have it that year. I grieved for many reasons including that one. I have since made many positive changes in my life, including becoming a nurse and helping many other diabetics. I am now getting ready to turn 40 and anxiously awaiting the cure that will be here in the very near future. :)

Heather Hans
Louisville, KY

My hero Finnegan!

My son Finnegan was diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago when he was just 2 years old. I realized my active toddler had something very wrong going on when he was always tired and his thirst was never satisfied. I brought him to the clinic and within 10 minutes of his appointment we were sent to the hospital. There I found out my little man had a terrible disease i had barely heard of. In the three days we were in the hospital, Finnegan had to endure dozens of finger pokes and insulin injections, just the very beginning of a life full of them. At the age of 3, Finnegan went through his honeymoon period involving a year of struggling with low blood sugar, seizures, ambulance rides and more hospital stays. Today, Finnegan is almost 9 and takes his own blood sugar counts carbs, and uses his insulin pump with very minimal assistance. I couldn't be prouder of my little warrior and he is truly my little hero. He may have diabetes, but diabetes does not have him!

Rachel Henderson
Virginia, MN

Don't Ignore Your Diabetes Diagnosis.

In 1993 when I was 32 I was told by a doctor who I was seeing for a job related physical (Truck Driver) that I was a "Borderline" diabetic and to "keep an eye on it".
I tried to take his advice but had to face the fact that I lived on the road and it is very difficult to exercise when you spend your day in the drivers seat and almost impossible to eat healthy at a truckstop. Due to not having insurance, The only physicals I got was the job required physical every 2 years

In January 1999, I developed Pneumonia. While I was in the hospital I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The doctor told me to get some Diabetic Education and prescribed medicine along with a healthy diet and exercise. I had no insurance at the time, a young son and wife at home and had difficulty paying for the $600 a month prescriptions. Some months I had them but most months I went with-out. After a while, I put Diabetes in the back of my mind and went on with life.

On February 18, 2000 I had a massive heart attack while delivering my load in Pittsburgh, PA. After I arrived at the hospital the nurse told me my Blood Glucose level was 671 and that Diabetes had caused this heart attack. I was 38 years old.

Now 13 years later, I have Congestive Heart Failure, COPD (not related to diabetes), my legs and feet are rotting away and walking anywhere is very difficult, I had to give up my lifelong career that I loved (2006) and I barely survive on Social Security Disability. 2 years ago I signed up for Diabetic Education and I am finally the master of my Diabetes.

The moral of this story is this: Take your diagnosis very seriously. Do not allow career, money or anything else to stand in the way of taking care of you.

Steven Hays Sr.
Macomb, IL

My New Life

Eleven days before my birthday in 2009 I was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain only to be diagnosed within hours as being diabetic and having a severe infection. I am not unfamiliar with diabetes as my mom is a T2, so I had a basic knowledge of what I could and couldn't have. My first meal in there was a diabetic nightmare: regular soda, grape juice, bread, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots and cake. Really?? After a week, I was released without any kind of knowledge of what type I had. It took a school nurse (a 30+ year nursing vet) to tell me I had T1 adult onset. I researched and everything she told me was true. I am a T1 adult onset. This threw my world spinning even more, and my family at home was, and is, no help. The constant comments about diet and weight do not serve to support me. They "try" to help, mostly by buying no sugar added/reduced sugar/sugar free sweets and baked goods in addition to the regular ones but then eat all the "diabetic friendly" food first. This is a daily thing; even with salads. In a way, I have given up hoping that they will ever change and want to understand my new reality. They truly do not get that there are sometimes I -have- to go without food in order to by syringes...or strips...or insulin. It is a daily struggle to remain positive and to live my life to the utmost. In the midst of one of my biggest battles with T1, I was actually asked to take another position at work because "...perhaps you're physically incapable of keeping up with the demands of (your) shift." This was a huge blow, especially where I work. I have chosen to look at the positives of life and to keep moving forward. It's really all I can do. Instead, I have found miraculous support with my colleagues, certain extended family and friends. I am truly blessed in this regard.

Jessie
Citrus Springs, FL