At age 5 I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus, or Juvenile Diabetes. My mom quickly became aware that my life was in danger, and my life was turned upside down. At the same time that I was diagnosed my mother was graduating from university with a bachelor’s in nursing. Throughout my childhood my mother lived with fear of sending me to school, worrying what would happen if I encountered an adverse event while at school and no one knew what to do. So, mom dedicated her time to educating school staff about diabetes. I graduated from high school in 1996, and I entered nursing school in 2005 prepared to become the nurse my mother had exemplified. Between 1996 and 2005 my older sister R.J. was unexpectedly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. R.J. was always my hero, but she didn’t accept her diagnosis, so she became fallible when she went into stage V renal failure. Just as she was beginning her life as a new mommy she learned that she would die without a kidney transplant. When my mom donated her kidney to give R.J. a second chance at life, I had already been a hospice nurse for about ten years. After the kidney transplant I vowed to be a better provider, and to make a difference in my profession. My hypothesis is that patient outcomes would improve if providers dedicated more time to educating patients about their chronic diseases. My own personal and nursing experiences inspired me to pursue a doctorate in the nursing profession as a family nurse practitioner. I believe my knowledge and training will make me a more conscientious and empathetic provider.