A day that changed my life forever and a day that I will never forget is July 24, 2000, the day I was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Onset Diabetes. A term that at the time I was too sick to understand. The doctor’s statement, “You have diabetes!” began my long stay at the hospital. I was placed on the ICU floor for five days. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes I had become extremely sick. Diabetes did not run in my family, so we did not recognize the warning signs.
When I got to the emergency room my blood sugar was 800. A normal blood sugar for me is 80-120. 800 was a cause for panic. I learned later if I hadn’t arrived at the hospital at that time I could have lapsed into a coma, fighting for my life.
When I was younger my parents would have to drag me kicking and screaming to the doctor’s office. If I had to get a shot during the doctor’s visit it was that much worse. I can look back and laugh about this now. When the nurses educated me about what I would have to do to take care of my diabetes every single day when I got out of the hospital I had to fully understand that the shots I was so afraid of receiving when I was little was now going to become a part of my everyday life for the rest of my life. Learning to inject myself with insulin shots was hard for me. Although I was resistant at first, I would have to do this in order to stay alive.
Thirteen years later, I am very used to my diabetic routine. I wear an insulin pump. I also wear the Continuous Glucose Monitor. Diabetes is a challenge and sometimes difficult. No one ever said life was going to be easy! It’s easy to get down on yourself but I realize now that this life experience has made me a stronger individual able to face new challenges everyday!
Shelton, CT