half my life

12 years ago today I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was 12 years old and in 7th grade.  I really did not know much about the disease and I had no idea how my life would change.  I was lucky to have caught my diabetes before my blood sugar was so out of control.  I didn't have to spend the night in the hospital but that also meant that they sent me on my way at dinner time with a syringe and insulin.  I was terrified! All of the sudden mealtime wasn't so easy.  I could only eat so much and I was starving all the time. I remember crying in the car a few days later because I was so hungry but I could only eat so many carbs and only at certain times.  I was already sick of carrots and sugar free Jello (you can only eat so much sugar free Jello).  I stayed home from school for a few days while I got used to taking shots and testing my blood sugar.  I remember my first low blood sugar.  My mom and I had just come home from the grocery store and I started feeling so strange.  My diabetes educator had explained how a low would feel but it is honestly a feeling that is hard to explain.  I remember dropping to the floor in our kitchen.  I was laying on the floor telling my mom "I THINK I'M DYING"  she grabbed my test kit and I checked my blood sugar I was low and I ate some glucose.  Soon the "I THINK I'M DYING" feeling started to go away.

Now "what is my blood sugar?"  is what I think about when I wake up in the morning and all day long....

That day 12 years ago I didn't realize all of the bad, no fun things that I was going to have to deal with the rest of my life.  There were also some things I would have never experienced if I wasn't diabetic.  I have fond memories of diabetes camp( I LOVED camp), snow cone fundraisers at the rodeo, and I know people now that I never would have met if it weren't for diabetes.  So maybe there is a silver lining.

I am very thankful for my friends and family that have helped me and given me support.  I know I couldn't do this without them!