Help Us Change Jules’ Odds
in Awareness
It was that day of the year that comes once every three months. The day I absolutely hated more than anything in the world. It was the day of my appointment with my Endocrinologist.
Many thoughts began to run through my head. Would they realize I only checked my blood sugar three times on July 17th? Or that I didn’t check my sugar once for a week straight in August? I felt sicker by the second. They will definitely be able to tell. My heart began to race and my palms became sweaty. The doctor came in with my blood work results. I began to feel lightheaded and as if the weight of the world was upon my shoulders. He began to read down the list of my results. My thyroid levels were normal, my celiac numbers went up and then to the results that I absolutely dreaded, my A1C numbers. The pressure became too much as I felt as if I was about to faint. Then he stated the infamous number, thirteen point five. A normal A1C is supposed to be between a 6 and 7. My mom burst into tears and I felt the room spinning. I knew I had messed up but there was nothing I could do to change that number. I didn’t know what to feel, whether to scream or cry or to crawl into a hole and never come out. I was disappointed that I had let myself slip and get to that level but I knew that from that moment on, things would change.
I changed the way I took care of myself. I checked my blood sugar more often and gave myself insulin when I was supposed to. My A1C decreased immediately, but even with better numbers, I still didn’t feel as well as they told me I would. I felt as if I needed something to erase the memories of the days I dreaded the most.
Today I am a youth ambassador for Breakthrough T1D. I help children and families who need support for this disease in which we share. Each day kids are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and feel hopeless of what the future holds. With 17 years of experience, I use my knowledge to show families that there is hope. Helping Breakthrough T1D helps me to fill those bad memories of doctor appointments with good memories of people smiling when they realize that there is hope and that together we can find a cure. Although sometimes it can seem impossible, I now have no more dreadful days.
Please consider making a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Jules and others living with T1D by clicking here.