Hi. My name is Ava and I have Type One Diabetes. I am 11 years old and I was diagnosed 5 years ago. Diabetes is hard to live with. You would think you would get used to it but that is not true.
When you have T1D it is a life long struggle that you have no choice but deal with it. Diabetes is manageable but you always have to be on top of your numbers. I have to check my numbers before I can do anything. Even though I am alive and look like everyone else, I am not.
I try to be super careful and give myself the exact right amount of insulin but I still get high blood sugars and lows. The insulin I have to take doesn’t work as good as the insulin your body makes. It’s slow and takes a long time to work. Even if I eat a carrot, I worry that my body is being hurt. My doctor and parents tell me that I will be ok but I know the truth.
A lot of the time I need to remind myself that “even though this disease is terrible there is always a silver lining, you just need to find it.” When I am feeling really sad or really mad I think about the good stuff. One of the silver linings is that I have met so many wonderful people such as my former one to one aide Ms. Lotz. She has become like family and I would never have met her if I did not have T1D. I also get to become close with my teachers. They have been so good to me and take the time to learn how to look after me. I am responsible for monitoring my blood glucose levels. I don’t always feel my lows until it’s too late. It comes on so fast that my legs give out and I am unable to make decisions about treating my lows. My teachers need to be trained in Type 1 Diabetes so they can help me in those situations. It means so much to me that so many people care and want to make sure I’m safe at school.
Another silver lining is that I get to go to the Clara Barton Diabetes Camp. I went to regular sleep away camp with all the fancy activities such as water parks, zip lines and miniature golf but it didn’t come close to comparing to my experience at diabetes camp. At Clara Barton we are all sharing the same struggles and have the same experiences. We are usually the only ones in school that are different but at camp we are all the same and it bonds us in a way that most people never experience, I never have to answer questions and everyone just gets me.
Kids often ask questions when they see my pump or hear my blood glucose sensor alarms going off. It really gets annoying to always have to explain this disease. People are often afraid they will catch diabetes, which is crazy! Sometimes I don’t get invited to sleepovers or playdates because the parents are worried about taking care of me.
When my blood sugar (BG) is low I get dizzy, shaky, confused, hungry, and sometimes silly. When my BG is high I get crazy, a belly ache, thirsty, and a head ache. As I said before living with Diabetes is not easy. Even though it might get a little less challenging over the years, you never get used to it and it never becomes easy. My fingers hurt all the time because I have to prick them so many times a day. My belly is covered with scars and marks from all the pump sites. Sometimes I feel like a robot because I have so many things attached to me. Counting everything I eat plus considering what time of day it is, how much exercise I am going to do, how long it will be until I eat again, where I am going, how hot it is outside and if I will be nervous each and every time is eat and dose with insulin is really exhausting! Sometimes I get so mad that I just don’t do it.
I can’t get mad and take a break from this. I have to do it every day and I am tired of it. I am lucky that a smart scientist discovered insulin but this is not a life that is easy. Kids die every day and that scares me. I know my parents think about it often. That is why we need a cure. My mom tells me every day that we are getting close. And with your help and donations, a cure might just happen soon. Your donations go to making life with diabetes easier and also toward finding a cure. Please donate! Thank You.
Please consider making a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Ava and others living with T1D by clicking here.
