I’m 27 and have been living with type 1 diabetes for 22 years now. . . . Crazy to think I’ve had over 60,000 finger pokes! (They don’t know why I got diabetes just after my 5th birthday. I just did.) I thought I would share some memories of a type-1 diabetic, both happy and sad, that I have had over the years.

Memories of a Type-1 Diabetic:

I sat looking out my front window watching my whole family play baseball in the front yard. I felt too sick to go outside and join them. (Just a few days earlier I came home from a birthday party and told my mom I didn’t like chocolate anymore.) Days later I was diagnosed. –Age 5

My diabetes doctor helped me practice shots on a stuffed animal Pink Panther. –Age 5

My dad sat at the dining room table with his sleeve rolled up letting me give him saline shots so I wouldn’t feel alone and so I could practice. –Age 5

I went to the nurse’s office every day where my mom would give me my shot. The elementary school principal thought it would scare all the other kids if we did it in the cafeteria. –Age 6

I was surrounded by EMTs in the middle of the night in my living room where I had just had my first and (thankfully) only insulin reaction. –Age 8

I got to meet Nicole Johnson (Miss America 1999) and wear her crown. She became the first Miss America with diabetes and came to visit the Barbara Davis Diabetes Center in Denver. –Age 8

While on a trip to my grandma and grandpa’s house, I had to go to the hospital. I had caught the stomach flu and my blood sugar kept dropping despite my best efforts to correct the lows. (I would just puke out all the grape juice.) I had to be taken to the emergency room in the middle of the night to get an IV. –Age 8

After switching from insulin shots to the insulin pump, I felt like I was part machine. Learning to sleep with a box clipped to your pajama pants is surprisingly hard to figure out. –Age 10

I was the only kid in my grade with a cell phone. I needed to be able to call my mom’s pager if I had a diabetic emergency, and she would find a phone to call me back. –Age 10

Being so embarrassed, I would hide my insulin pump under my shirt between my stomach and my pants so that no one would see it. –Age 12-14

I was in band with a cool diabetic kid named Riley who wore his insulin pump in plain sight. He was kind and liked by everyone, so I realized people could still like me too with diabetes. –Age 15

While just 15 minutes into hiking the Alps with my family, everyone had to stop and wait for a good solid 30 minutes before my blood sugar was high enough to begin again. –Age 16

I stuffed my insulin pump into my bra during semi-formal and formal dances so I could wear a dress to the high school dance. There was nowhere else to put it. –Age 16-18

I sat out of swim practice all the time because of low blood sugars. Then I was not able to breathe very well when I would over correct and my blood sugars would skyrocket. –Age 17

My boyfriend, fiance, and now husband is a nurse AND doctor, and I couldn’t be more grateful. He understands the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and is sensitive and supportive of my well being. –Age 18+

My mom or sister call/text me every morning when my husband is out of town to make sure I made it through the night and am okay. –Age 19+

Every week during my third trimester with my first daughter, I went to three doctor appointments a week because I could develop preeclampsia. –Age 22

At 39 weeks of pregnancy, I became preeclamptic and had a scary delivery. –Age 23

Right after I finished breastfeeding my first daughter, I learned that having more biological children would be dangerous to my long-term health and that we would need to grow our family through adoption. –Age 23

With a fanny pack full of diabetic supplies strapped around my waist, I successfully trained for and ran a Ragnar relay race and later half marathon. –Age 24

My body started to reject insulin pump sites, so I had to switch back to shots. –Age 24

I learned and grew while living as a type-1 diabetic and drew closer to Christ in the process. –Age 5 to now

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” -Ether 12:27

I hope you can connect at some level with these memories of a type-1 diabetic. If you are a diabetic yourself or know someone who is, please share memories, good or bad, that you have below!

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