Type 1 Diabetes: The Two Most Important Events In My Life

Affecting almost 3% of the entire population, diabetes is indeed a disorder that is very common. When this is not controlled, there are several complications that can occur. Here are the different signs and symptoms of diabetes and how your diabetes recipes should be like.

Living with a chronic condition not only effects the individual, but it effects the entire family. An adolescent living with a chronic health condition not only depends on their family for support, but also on support from their friends, classmates, and healthcare team (Rostami, Parsa-Yekta, Najafi Ghezeljeh, & Vanaki, 2014). Supporting an individual with a chronic disease leaves an emotional impact and can be financially straining as well. Families living with a sick child must find strategies to cope. Whether the coping strategies utilized are positive or negative, they leave a lasting effect on the entire family, as well as the child living with the condition (Woodson, Thakkar, Burbage, Kichler, & Nabors, 2015). Involvement of the parents in this situation is vital to the child’s future success in managing their illness (Landers, Friedrich, Jawad, & Miller, 2016). This paper will explore one family’s story of living with, and coping with, a child who has recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

Ever since a young boy, I was known for my crazy eating habits. I had an abnormally large sweet tooth and stomach. There would be days I would eat a whole bag of candy and still have a taste for more sweets. I had a fairly thin physique with some muscle tone. Everybody told me that one day, I’ll become obese and regret all these “bad” decisions; I disregarded every comment and lived by the motto, “ As long as I don’t get fat, I’m fine.”

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.

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes, is an incurable but treatable disease which can occur at any age but is mostly found in children due to the high levels of glucose in the blood (Eckman 2011). Juvenile diabetes affects about 1 in every 400-600 children and more than 13,000 are diagnosed yearly (Couch 2008). Type 1 Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone, which helps glucose gets into your cells to provide energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth (American Diabetes Association). Previous research has suggested proper

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.

Doctors and licensed dieticians recommend that people who are diabetic should watch or limit what they eat. Treating diabetes is complimented by a well balanced diet and lifestyle. With the good advice from a licensed dietician, a diabetic diet meal plan becomes easier to manage.

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.

On July 14th 2010, when I was twelve years old, I was rushed to the hospital because my blood sugar levels were 407. Before my mom had observed that I was rapidly losing weight, drinking a great amount of water, and was continuously tired. My mom was worried that I had type one diabetes because others in my family has diabetes.

Type 1-diabetes deprives cells of the sugar that is need for energy in the cells. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin or not enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is involved in controlling how the body converts sugar into energy in our cells. Type 1-diabetes is not as common as type 2-diabetes. According to the University of Maryland type 1 diabetes accounts for 5 - 10% of all diabetes cases. Most cases of type 1-diabetes typically develop in childhood or adolescence and can happen in both boys and girls. However type 1-diabetes can occur at any age but is more prevalent in the younger population. (Diabetes - type 1, 2013) Type 1-diabetes is more common in whites than in other ethnic groups. According to the

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

Hurriedly my mom packed me into the car and dashed to the hospital. Nobody knew what was going on, one day I was a sweet seven year old boy and the next I was as rancid as a rotten egg and grumpier than a cat. I don’t quite remember what happened when I got to the hospital because on my way there I lost consciousness. A few hours later I awoke and once again master of my senses. At that moment the doctor came in and told me the bad news. I had a lifelong and challenging disease, known as Type 1 Diabetes.

Nearly 16 million people in the United States have diabetes, the disease classified as a problem with insulin. The problem could be that your body does not make insulin, does not make enough, or it simply does not know how to use it properly. Diabetes is also known as "diabetes mellitus".

Breathe in, breathe out. My lungs rattle as I gasp for air in the humid afternoon. The sun beats down on my forehead as sweat drips onto the blistering tar. My jersey sticks to my skin as I clench my fists. Breathe in, breathe out. My legs flood with lactic acid, but I march ahead. Coach’s voice interrupts the pounding of my feet, urging me to fight on. I feel a sudden burst of adrenaline rush through my body and I drive my legs up the hill. Breathe in, breathe out. Midway, my vision begins to blur. Numbness diffuses across my arms until I’m left paralyzed. I realize my blood glucose is dangerously low but I still push forward. My body stiffens and I collapse onto the dehydrated grass beneath me. I stare up at the sky and see the sun begin