My story starts when I was five years old, I was on my way to Bend to go visit family for a few days. Our drive up to Bend was really rough, I was drinking ten times the water I usually do, and we had to take a bathroom break every ten minutes. My mom and dad figured something may be off. They were very worried about me, but their worries were decreased shortly after we arrived and I started to play with my cousins. The next day, my family decided to go out to a small diner after a fun-filled day of playing in the snow. All my cousins and little brother ordered your average diner milkshakes, while I sat at a table guzzling pitcher after pitcher of water. On that trip there were many sleepless nights, many meals skipped, and an immense amount of water. Everyone in the house knew something was wrong with me. The conflict however, was that no one knew what was wrong with me. 

A few days later, when we returned from our trip, my mom made a doctors appointment for me with my pediatrician. My mom told the nurse my symptoms; excessive thirst, weight loss, fatigue, irritability, and constantly going to the bathroom. The nurse ordered up a blood sugar test, which is where they prick your finger and test the glucose in your blood. For an average person, a good blood glucose is within the range from 70-130. In my case, my blood glucose was hitting the 400 range. It was in that moment I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. I had to go home, pack my bag and head off to OHSU for treatment. We left my little brother with my grandparents on New Years Eve and drove to the hospital. The moment we arrived and were checked into my room, they were already bombarding me with tests, finger pokes, A1C’s, and many other assessments. It was a long week in the hospital. I specifically remember a nurse coming in every 30 minutes to check me in the middle of the night. I remember being bed-ridden for days on end and being mostly confined to my hospital room. I remember not fully understanding how my life would be altered from that point on. I think when I was young, I didn’t really understand what my diabetes meant. Yes, I knew all of the terms and the basics on how to take care of myself, but I have learned so much more as I have grown. 

Nowadays, I am so blessed to have good technology and have proper knowledge on how to take care of myself. There are many challenges, and my life with diabetes is not the easiest. There are always two things that can go wrong with my one right. But out of several things I take away from having diabetes, one is to be grateful. Life is a blessing and unfortunately, some people don’t realize that. Another thing I have learned is to never judge people. Diabetes is the invisible disease, which means you can’t look at someone and know for sure that they are a diabetic. That leads to my last lesson, Diabetes is not actually a joke. 

Type one diabetes is a genetically inherited diseases that greatly impacts all of its victims’ lives. It may seem crazy, but every day is a battle to stay alive. An estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly related to diabetes in the past year. It’s really scary to know the effects of what could happen if my blood sugar goes too high or too low. I try my best to be careful and aware of the consequences, but I also try to not let diabetes define me. “I am so much more than my diabetes.” Is what my mom is constantly telling me. My mom plays an enormous role in helping me manage my diabetes and helps me realize that I can do great things and not to let my disease hold me back. 

In closing, what I wish for you to take away is that hard things will happen. God puts hard things in your life so you can learn from them and come out stronger. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 states, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” This means that God will never give us more than we can handle. I believe that God gave me diabetes for a reason, I’m not quite sure what that reason is yet. But I believe that as I grow, it will become evident.