Type 1 Diabetes: A Short Story

Life sometimes presents us with events that frame our futures. For me, that event was the diagnosis of type one diabetes. I have always been a goal-oriented person, but faced with type one at an early age taught me the importance of goal setting, perseverance, and hard work. Diabetes has been a battle that has forced me to perform well under high-pressure circumstances; it has pushed me to become a stronger person. As a type one, I have learned how to successfully balance and excel as a student, employee, athlete, and leader. My diagnosis is, in fact, what has inspired me to become a doctor.

I remember going to sleep at 1:30 am, because I was working on my posters, and I remember spending 7 hours on a Saturday to brainstorm and write my speech. Eventually my hard work and dedication paid off when I won. On the other hand I remember that training for my 5k was much worse. On the side of being trained by the “Devil” himself (Coach Acuna) I was also training on my separate time with my dad. I wanted to quit every day and I didn’t want to run twice, but eventually I started to improve and I began to feel good. I realized that I could accomplish everything and anything I wanted to.

When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. It was 11 years ago on New Year’s Eve, and I was celebrating the holiday by consuming an immense amount of sugar. My mother, who already had two other young children with diabetes, immediately recognized that I was suffering from the symptoms of hyperglycemia. After I was diagnosed, I was given a book and a bear. The book was about how the other kids would react to my diagnosis, and the bear was covered in colourful patches that corresponded to the areas on my own body that I could give my insulin injections.

My life wouldn’t be considered normal. My parents were immigrants from Pakistan trying to create a better life for them and their children, and they’re the only ones from their families to move to America. They moved from New York, to Richardson, and lastly to Rockwall, Texas in 2005. I was born in 2000 but when events in my life truly started shaping me was in the summer of 2004.

I ran as fast as I could, I was tired but knew that I had to keep going. The sun shone down ferociously making it very bright and torrid. I felt sweat drip from just above my brow into my right eye. My eye began to get a burning sensation just as I turned the corner. My muscles ached, but I knew I had to shift into overdrive and pick up the pace. I started to run faster and faster. I began to get the feeling like I was about to throw up, but knew that I couldn’t stop now. I continued to sprint to the finish, and just as I crossed the finish line I looked to the clock and noticed that I set a new PR. The feeling of happiness that swelled up inside me took me back to the practice on the tuesday of the previous week: That day it was hot as fire

Around the end of January I began to feel ill. I was becoming weaker, I couldn’t even stand in the shower by myself. I lost around 10 pounds too. In the beginning of February, I went to the doctor with my mom. The doctor said we shouldn’t worry about it and it was probably just the flu. She also took a couple blood tests just in case it was something else. My mom took me to work with her, because she didn’t want to leave me alone at home. Later on that day, the doctor called my mom and told her to bring me into the hospital as soon as possible. At the time I had no idea what diabetes was. I was only 8 years old. It was February 9, 2007, and I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. I ended up staying in the hospital for that whole week, and stayed

The individual I chose to observe is my cousin who is a 24-year-old male who was diagnosed with type1 diabetes since the age of 14. But before being diagnosed with type1 diabetes my cousin was healthy teenager that would eat just like any other teenager, but his life drastically change right away after being diagnosed with type1 diabetes. He now suffers from weight lost, nausea, body pain, and is insulin dependent. Being insulin dependent was one of the biggest changes in his life, because he had no idea what was occurring to his body and was not inform about diabetes. It took a while for my cousin to get used to the changes that were occurring to him as a teenager, but now that he is older and cautious about his disability, he lives a healthy

Diabetes Mellitus is a disorder characterized by an imbalance between insulin production, insulin need, and the bodies ability to use the available insulin. This imbalance can result from a total lack of insulin, from impaired release of insulin, inadequate or defective insulin receptors in body tissue, or from the production of insulin that is either inactive or destroyed before it can become effective.

In each individual’s time on earth normally there is a great chance of some sort of tragedy to occur, possibly in many different ways. This could either be triggered by oneself or from another individual’s decision. There are certain situations that are out of one’s control. Leaving those affected the responsibility of taking charge of the problem and making the best of the situation. Some situations offer minimal risk to the health of an individual or others. There are specific cases that it is the opposite and the situation dealt is terminal or completely life altering. Health related issues and many other opportunities are now restricted just from a diagnoses like type 1 diabetes. This situation is all too familiar to a personal experience in my own life. I have been diagnosed with an incurable disease called, and now a type 1 diabetic.

My grandma has had diabetes since 1994 and everyday I know what she goes through. When I was young she would always remind me not to eat too much fatty foods or stay exercising or else I would turn up like her. My grandpa on the other hand did not have controlled diabetes, which therefore led him to a kidney failure and he had to get a kidney transplant. He is constantly injecting himself with insulin and it hurts me knowing her has to go through this everyday. Knowing that diabetes is hereditary I know that I have a high risk of getting diabetes in the future and it has made me very health conscious of my day to day

In each individual human’s time on earth normally there is a great chance of some sort of tragedy to occur, while possibly in many different varieties. This could either be trigged by oneself or be from another individual’s decision. Although there are some situations that are out of one’s control. Leaving those affected the responsibility of taking charge of the problem and making the best of the situation. Some situations offer minimal risk to the health of an individual or others. There are specific cases that it is the opposite and the situation dealt is terminal or completely life altering. Health related issues and many other opportunities are restricted by such a diagnoses of type 1 diabetes. This situation is all too familiar to a personal experience in my own life. I have been diagnosed with an incurable disease called, type 1 diabetes. However this is an uncommon disease to affect people.

I sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the green cabinets and bowls of fruit. I wanted to play in tonight’s soccer game, but my mind was still foggy from the drugs I received in the hospital the day before. I didn’t want my teammates to see me like this. My hair was matted from where my head rubbed against the blue hospital pillow, and a wrinkled piece of clear tape secured a nasal feeding tube onto my cheek. I hated what the tube meant: that I was inadequate and that I couldn’t drink by myself. I was someone who insisted on doing everything on my own, and the thin, flexible tube was a physical reminder that I could not. My mom and dad lauded my bravery, but I dismissed them. I didn’t believe bravery was dictated by necessity.

The study aimed to determine if there is a link between physical activity and glycemic control or cardiovascular risk in patients with type 1 diabetes. Although there is much evidence that shows the positive effects of physical activity in individuals with type 2 diabetes, there is hardly any evidence that shows whether physical activity improves glycemic control in people with type 1 diabetes. The study sample consisted of 18,028 adults aged between 18 and 80 years with type 1 diabetes from Germany and Austria. Data was collected using a software for standardized prospective documentation of diabetes care and outcomes. Results showed an inverse association between physical activity and glycemic control, which implies that physical

Diabetes affects millions of people in the United States and is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in the US5. Type 2 Diabetes, which is the most common type of Diabetes, is predisposed by obesity and physical inactivity 7. Consistent physical activity is an integral part of prevention and diabetes management5. Physical activity is not limited to exercising, but also includes recreational activities, leisure activities, occupation and household chores. Physical activity is different from population to population and is influenced by cultural norms, infrastructure, awareness,

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder in which the β-cells in the pancreatic islets have been destroyed, leaving the body with very little or completely without endogenous insulin. There are many proposed etiologies to this auto-destruction, some of which are genetic susceptibilities and environmental factors. The incidence of T1D has steadily increased in developed countries, suggesting that exposure to various environmental factors may lead to β-cell autoimmunity; namely the intake of milk, sucrose, meat, and overall caloric intake (Rowe, Campbell-Thompson, Schatz, & Atkinson, 2011). An “overload hypothesis” by Dahlquist points to accelerated growth as a main factor. Dahlquist suggests overfeeding, especially from sugar sources, leads to high insulin demand, and expedites the destruction and autoimmune process. There is a known association between obesity and type 2 diabetes, however recent growth data from a population-based study shows that children diagnosed with T1D were growing faster than their age-matched controls, prior to diagnosis (Dahlquist, 2006). Obesity has recently been linked to T1D, with early height and weight increase starting as early as the first two years of life (Dahlquist, 2006). Children with low birth weight also had a lower risk for childhood T1D in contrast to their high birth weight counterpart.