Breakthrough T1D community members Ryan Lloyd and Brian Mooney share their unique diagnosis stories and their experiences as two of the extremely few pilots flying commercially with type 1 diabetes.

After a routine physical in 2021 showed high amounts of sugar in her urine, Ryan Lloyd’s doctor told her she might have type 1 diabetes (T1D). Though they couldn’t know definitively until a blood test was done, the fear already began to set in, and the phone calls had to be made. Working as a flight instructor at the time, she called her management to let them know she couldn’t fly for the foreseeable future, she called her parents to let them know what she knew and she called her friend Brian Mooney for support.

Shortly after completing most of his pilot licenses, Brian was diagnosed in 2017 at the age of 22. Flying long hours in the Florida heat with no air conditioning and little ventilation, Brian was coming home exhausted every day; he would immediately head for the fridge, eat everything in sight and then take an hours-long nap. He drank coffee and energy drinks throughout the day to keep his energy at a minimum, and cranberry cocktail juice after he began experiencing discomfort when urinating. Each glass only made the discomfort worse and made him feel more tired.

After the daily pain became too much to handle, a visit to urgent care, a visit to his primary care doctor and a misdiagnosis, an endocrinologist finally told Brian the issue: he had T1D and would be insulin dependent for the rest of his life. Not only that, but he could never fly for the airlines again.

Brian immediately broke down and the tears wouldn’t stop coming while sitting in the doctor’s office. Then, they took his photo for his patient profile, eyes swollen shut and face puffy and red.

At this point, Brian knew he would never be able to fly for commercial airlines, which was his lifelong goal, so he was faced with two options: 1. continue training, build flight time as an instructor and hope the rules would eventually change, or 2. face reality and start a new career path. Brian had hope. He chose the former.

Brian knew he faced an uphill battle, but he was motivated by his deep passion for flying. Not only did he have to learn how to take care of himself with a new disease, but he also had to figure out how to continue flying to progress in a career that meant everything to him. As a newly diagnosed person, he was grounded from all flying until he could prove to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that he could maintain glycemic control. He had to endure a 6-month waiting period and then he would have extremely limited privileges. Flying commercially was still not an option. He knew he may never reach his dreams, but he wanted to see this through to the end and see that door yank shut before he tried something else.

When Ryan called Brian on the phone that day after her doctor’s visit, Brian’s immediate reaction was sadness. He wanted nothing more than to hear that this was all a mistake, so that she wouldn’t have to face the same challenges in her career as he had. When it was finally confirmed that she had T1D, he knew that she had what it took to succeed in anything she set her mind to. After that initial shock, she immediately moved into problem-solving mode.

After talking to Brian, Ryan still had hope that this could all be a fluke, but what she was experiencing in her daily life did start to make sense: drinking a strawberry daiquiri and some M&M’s and falling asleep five minutes into movie night, drinking more energy drinks than water just to stay awake, and rapidly losing 30 pounds over the period of just a few months. Soon, her lab results came back confirming she had T1D, too.

Hardly anyone could understand what Ryan was going through, and she was forced to witness everyone’s lives around her move forward, listening to her friends’ stories about submitting job applications to airlines, while her own life had just been flipped upside down.

Having Brian as a mentor helped Ryan maintain a positive outlook, but it wasn’t easy. Many medical professionals she encountered at diagnosis didn’t provide her with the words of encouragement she needed to move forward. She was asked if she’d become homeless and if she could afford her rent because she had to give up on her dream of flying. Had she not known Brian, she would have.

“How many other people have been turned away from a career they loved due to misinformation from medical professionals?” she thought to herself.

After switching to a new endocrinologist, Ryan shared her story, gained a new cheerleader and got her motivation back. Her passion for flying ran deep, too. There was a set of guidelines for her to focus on earning her medical certificate and getting back in the air. Having a goal to work toward with immediate rewards (or consequences) kept her focused.

Ryan and Brian had been good friends for almost a year leading up to Ryan’s diagnosis. After they realized they were in the T1D club together, they instantly began motivating and encouraging one another, sharing blood sugar numbers and eating lunch together in the breakroom at work.

Prior to Ryan’s diagnosis, Brian realized the most important pieces he was missing in his life with T1D: connection and understanding. As much as he could vent to family and friends, they could never truly understand what he was going through. Every complaint and every victory had to be followed up with an explanation. With Ryan, there was no explanation needed. Having each other’s support and having a friend to talk to brought levity to the darker moments.

Not to mention, Brian loved being able to look in Ryan’s purse whenever he needed a low snack, an extra pump site or an extra Dexcom sensor.

Ryan and Brian recognize that they are not pioneers when it comes to flying with T1D. Their good fortune has come from medical advancements, changing attitudes at the FAA and the fearless pilots who took up this fight long before they began experiencing any symptoms themselves.

Lawsuits filed by Eric Friedman and Mitchell Mitchell in 2016, with support from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), put pressure on the FAA to justify their decision to ban those living with T1D from flying commercially. This ultimately forced the FAA to implement protocol for licensed pilots living with T1D, and they were provided a path to continue flying in late 2019, two years after Brian’s diagnosis and one year prior to Ryan’s. The financial and emotional toll this took on Friedman and Mitchell and their families is unimaginable. Without their courage, Ryan, Brian and so many others would not have the opportunities they do today. The FAA has since updated their guidelines for insulin-treated pilots and any pilots treating their diabetes with other medications in 2022.

Times are changing. Advancements in technology and medicine allow those living with T1D to live full, healthy lives. This disease doesn’t go away, but there is power in perspective. Ryan and Brian see so many positives that T1D has brought to them. They have made lifelong friendships that would not have otherwise happened. They are so much more grateful for the career paths they are on. They fully savor the scenery, challenges and triumphs at work because it was almost taken away from them without warning. They know that those living with T1D can do whatever they want to in life.

Ryan and Brian are both currently working as active pilots for the airlines and, although they’re grateful for the changes that have allowed them to continue forward with their dreams, they both know this will be a career-long challenge, one that they hope more people living with T1D will be willing to take on with them.

Now, when Brian sees that puffy face every time he visits his endocrinologist, he can’t help but smile thinking about how far he and so many others have come.

Click here to learn more about the ADA’s work in advocating for pilots living with T1D.