For many families, a type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis can feel isolating. That\u2019s how it felt for Sue and her daughter, Joy, until they walked into their first Breakthrough T1D Community Summit. What they discovered there changed everything.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFebruary 24, 2018.\u00a0 The first Summit that Joy and I went to, less than a year after her diagnosis. It was the first event with Breakthrough T1D (then JDRF) that we attended. We were scared, nervous, excited\u2026.all the feels.\u00a0We had felt very alone in all the newness that came with her diagnosis, but a friend convinced us to go\u2026and we are so thankful we did.<\/p>\n
Walking through the vendor fair was so fun and inspiring.\u00a0So many advances and technological devices to look forward to \u2013 and they had fun swag to boot! The speaker was so great.\u00a0That year, and every year since, I am brought to tears hearing the inspiring stories of people with T1D that didn\u2019t let their diagnosis stop them.<\/p>\n
At lunch, the look on Joy\u2019s face was priceless.\u00a0When she saw that carb counts were provided on the tables by the food and most of the people in the room were either working out calculations, putting counts into their pumps, or prepping needles, it made her feel less alone.\u00a0She was with people who understood what it was like to have to struggle with this illness 24\/7.<\/p>\n
And so was I\u2026I met so many parents that knew what it was like to stare at their sleeping child, worrying that their blood sugar might be too high or too low but not wanting to poke them, scared to send them to school or to a sleepover \u2013 just living in a constant state of worry.<\/p>\n