T1D Warrior Scholarship

I was diagnosed as a Type-1 diabetic on December 5, 2018. I was very fortunate in how I found out. I had a yeast infection for the second time in a month, so I went to my doctor to get a prescription refilled. She said it was really weird that I had the infection come back so soon. The doctor then started asking me some questions. "Have you been extra thirsty lately?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "How often do you use the restroom?" She continued. "5-7 times in the night." My mom chimed in. "Have you been acting differently lately?" She questioned. "I've been getting a little impatient with my teammates," I admitted. She then looked at my mom and me and said, "this may be a shot in the dark, but these are all symptoms of diabetes. I am going to check your blood sugar levels now." As soon as she read out my blood sugar, we knew something was wrong. I was up at 426. My mom and I went home, packed our bags, and headed to the hospital. It did not take very long for me to get in control of my insulin and my blood sugar. By the second day in the hospital, I was already giving myself my shots. At my first check-up, my A1C was already cut in half. It was not easy, but I did my best to quickly come to terms with my diagnosis, and do all I can to live a happy, healthy life. It is really hard being a Type 1 diabetic, and a teenager struggling with depression. None of my family has a history of T1D, so I felt alone, and as if I couldn't talk to anyone about how I felt or what I was dealing with. In April 2019, about five months after being diagnosed, I had a really scary experience. I got really mad at myself and depressed, so I decided to use insulin to kill myself. I took over one hundred units of insulin that night. I was hoping no one would notice I was having a seizure, and I would die. Well, thankfully, I shared a room with my sister. She ended up waking up to me "making weird noises", and quickly went and got my parents. They came into the room, checked my glucose, which was 26, then used the Glucagon. Since then, I have learned the importance of talking to someone when my blood sugar level is above 300, to prevent dumb and dangerous actions from taking place. The first few months after the diagnosis were filled with much wallowing. After figuring out feeling sorry for myself wasn't doing any good, I changed my viewpoint and began to embrace my diagnosis. I gave a presentation on T1D to my team, classmates, and youth group. I also invited my friends and family to participate in the JDRF One Walk beside me. I have made a few friends who are T1D's too. One of my friends, who I will call Mark, had a hard time making smart choices, healthwise. When we went to his and my brother's basketball banquet, he did not want to take insulin for any of the pizzas or sodas he had. After my mom and I went over to talk to him, he explained that he hated being the "odd one out" and he wished he was normal. I know many T1D's may feel similarly to Mark. I also know that we don't have to be alone! We are all in this together.