Once a diabetic, always a diabetic!

by Lara Whitley
(Virginia)

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 10. It was a tag-along visit to the doctor that led to this discovery. I had not been acting like myself and mom mentioned this to the doctor. Next thing I knew, I was being admitted into the hospital with this disease that we had no family history or knowledge of whatsoever.

When I returned to school, the most common question I got was, will diabetes ever go away?. Even at that young age I knew I was stuck with this life altering disease for the rest of my life.
My family has definitely played a part in my continued fight with this disease! Though in the beginning my sisters thought that the baby was playing "diabetes" to get extra attention, they now know everything and help me live a better life!

I recently started on the Omnipod - this tool has completely changed my view of diabetes. Before I started on this pump I would skip shots and just correct later, because I didn't want to have to take a shot in front of people. My hba1c dropped from a 10 to 6.5 in just two months of being on the Omnipod!!! This definitley gave me encouragement to keep taking the necessary steps to stay healthy!

I am living life just like anyone else. I don't let diabetes hold me back from doing anything. I used to feel so alone with this disease but with help from communities, especially like tudiabetes.com, I don't feel alone...there are others that are dealing with what I am dealing with, and that is the best feeling in the world. I do have diabetes, but I don't let diabetes have me!!! =]