The date was June 9, 1999. A little girl was crying as she was sitting on the table at her pediatrician’s office. She was scared and had no idea what was happening. As the doctor entered the room, her mother began to break down in tears. “The diagnosis has been confirmed. Emma has Type I Juvenile Diabetes”. This made no sense to the 8 year old girl, whose life up until then had been filled with fun and happiness. It was definitely a wakeup call to her whole family.
I am now 18 years old and have been living with diabetes for over ten years now. I have become who I am today because of this event in my life. It is not only a significant event to me, but is also a passion of mine. I love teaching people about this disease and helping those who are living with it learn more about it. I was lucky to have such amazing support from my family and friends, and now I would like to give back to those who are not as fortunate as I was.
What is diabetes? Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. With Type I Juvenile diabetes, your pancreas does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose to get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth. Some of the symptoms include: being very thirsty, urinating often, feeling very hungry or tired, losing weight without trying, having sores that heal slowly, having dry or itchy skin, losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet, or having blurry eyesight.
Many people think that diabetes is just about checking your blood sugar and taking shots, but there is so much more to it. At a young age, my mom made me become independent and responsible, because with this disease, you need to be. You have to be able to measure the food you eat, count the carbohydrates, equate how much insulin you need to take with the food you intake, and know how to adjust factors that influence your blood sugar levels. All of these things take time to learn and establish a routine of doing them, but after a while it becomes second nature.
For a little kid with diabetes, the struggles become even tougher. As a kid, you should be able to enjoy the simple things in life and not have to worry about a single thing. But with diabetes in your life, you have to be able to be responsible. I learned this very quickly because my mom wouldn’t let me go out with or spend the night with friends until I could take care of myself without her help. Being able to do this takes a lot of responsibility. And it also takes a lot of trust from the parents. Growing up with diabetes has made me more mature than most young adults my age and I have taken every opportunity I have been given to prove that I am responsible.
With diabetes, as with any disease, there come complications. I have been unfortunate to experience a few of these. Christmas Eve of 1999 started as a normal day. We had had a family dinner and even opened a few presents at my grandma’s house. Around 3 a.m. Christmas Day, when most kids are sleeping, dreaming of what Santa is going to leave under the tree, by blood sugar had dropped extremely low and I had a seizure. My mom knew what to do, and immediately gave me a glucagon injection, which is basically a shot full of sugar. She called the ambulance and they were there to help me within 10 minutes. Without my mom, I probably would have either gone into a diabetic coma or possibly died. To this day, my mom is still me hero.
Another common complication is DKA, or Diabetic ketoacidosis. DKA occurs when glucose is not available as a fuel source by the body and fat is used instead. Byproducts of fat breakdown, called ketones, build up in the body. On my eleventh birthday, I got extremely sick and ended up in the hospital because of dehydration due to DKA. DKA has occurred more than once to me, but not recently. It is not healthy for your body, and can lead to complications later in life, such as diabetic neuropathy or eye problems.
By living with diabetes, I have gained many opportunities that I never would have come encountered with if I had not been diagnosed. As a kid with diabetes, I attended Camp Seale Harris, which is a camp for children with diabetes in Alabama. Going to this camp helped me cope with having this disease. I met other kids just like me who were going through the same thing as I was. I used to be embarrassed by having this disease, but seeing other kids like me who were happy and making the most out of having this made me realize that I didn’t need to be afraid of what others thought. This is what made me passionate about the subject. If more people knew about and understood the disease, kids wouldn’t have a problem opening up to their peers about the disease. When I was old enough, I became a counselor at Camp Seale Harris so I could give back to kids and help them learn, just like me. I love helping the kids. I get to teach them new things about diabetes, and sometimes I even get to teach them how to give their own shots. It really makes my day to see one of my campers leave camp happy and not feeling alone with their disease.
I also participate in support groups around the community for families with children recently diagnosed with diabetes. I help work a Halloween Party associated with Huntsville Hospital every year. Instead of candy, we give out healthy snacks and other prizes. Halloween is one of those holidays, along with Easter and Valentine’s Day, which makes the kids with diabetes feel out of place. Since diabetics really aren’t supposed to have candy, we have these parties so the kids don’t feel left out. I love helping people by teaching them through my experiences and this is one of the reasons I have chosen to participate in such events.
Diabetes can be very overwhelming at times in someone’s life, which is why it is important to be informed and understand the disease. I have taken it upon myself to reach out to my friends and teach them what I know about the disease and they appreciate my help, because one day they may have to help me! One of the reasons I have chosen the career of Nursing is because of my experiences with medical professionals through my years with diabetes. I want to be able to help people just as I was helped when I was diagnosed. I hope to one day make a difference in someone’s life. Without this disease I would not be the same person I am today. So, in a way, I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to take a bad event in my life and turn it into lifelong learning and helping others.
