Inspiring Stories

My story

I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 6 years now. It all began when I went to the doctors for a regular physical. My mom had asked them to check my blood sugar because we found out that diabetes ran in my family. My doctor checked it and my blood sugar was 387. He told us that we had to go to the children's medical center which was over an hour away. We did what we had to do I was in the hospital for 7 hours while they did tests after tests. It was so horrible. Today I am 18 years old and still dealing with diabetes everyday from finger pricks to needles everyday I am strong and I deal with it , because I know it will only benifit me in the future? Even tho it's really hard because my body never knows when my sugar is high or low.

Breann
Torrington, CT

My life

I had a neurological stroke. Well within a week I got 50% usage of my right hand an less than 10%of my left. Also was the start or nerothopy in my feet. My diabetes dr adjusted my meds put me on insulin to help get it under control. Thing just kept getting worse I ended up with a ulcer an my foot that was infected with Mrsa. It took almost a year to close with weekly wound center visits. Well once it healed within 2 weeks I shredded my achiliis Within the next month I got a new job since I was unable to work over the last 2 years being wheelchair bound and dr ordered non weight bearing. So my new job required me to travel. I got to the site in Indiana Sunday and started working. By Monday I was not feeling well chills sick. Light headed. One day after work I told my coworkers I was going to the Er. It was less than 10 mins away. Well I woke up in a hospital 4 hours later after they found me passed out in my truck. When I woke up my right foot looked like it exploded. They said I had MRSA in the bone of my foot and they had to amputate half of my foot but possible the leg from the knee down. The surgeon would make that call. Well when I woke I saw my big toe so was very happy they saved the leg. Well after 50 plus days in the Cleveland clinic. Then into a nursing home. I was sent home again unable to walk and wheelchair bound. Well it's been since march 19 and I am starting to heal every day. I have been diagnosed with kidney failure and arterial problems. So the moral of my storie. Listen to your doctor. Eat right, exercise and you could live a normal life.
I should have listened but I kept saying it will never happen to me. Well it did. And my poor wife know has to take care of me...

Dave Pappas
Elyria, OH

Me and Diabetes

I had never paid any attention to diabetes or its symptoms. In the weeks leading up to my diagnosis I had been going to the toilet a lot, and i was so thirsty all the time, I was going through drink after drink, all flavors!! None of them helped, my mouth remained dry as did the thirst. I just put it down to my new job, as I was being more active and up earlier than I used to be. Anyway I woke up around 3.30am one morning and was violently vomiting , this continued for the next 12 hours until I had such a pain I thought my chest was going to explode, I was out of breath and couldn't hold myself up, of course i thought i had a sick day bug and ignored it for another 2 hours or so until the pain got too much, it was then the doctor came and said we had to get an ambulance immediately , blood sugar should be between 4 & 7mmol/mol, mine was 58mmol/mol . I was very lucky I went in when I did. Although the diagnosis of diabetes is hard to take at the start , theirs loads of people telling you this and that and all your thinking is why me, it can get you down, but it just becomes part of your life. I'm 20 now and in college so partying is top of the agenda at the moment and it has not affected me in that or any other aspect of life. I eat better, and keep active and I still do everything that I used to do before, that's the main thing, don't let it get in the way of anything in life. Enjoy life and don't let it hold you back.

Thomas
Limerick, Ireland

Shaye's Story

When my son Shaye was three years old he came down with a bad cold, after a few days of both of us sick we went to the doctor. I was told he had bronchitis, they put him on an antibiotic and I thought for sure everything was going to be fine.

Shaye stopped eating and started drinking excessive amounts of water, I realize now this should've been a huge sign as to what was really going on but I honestly just thought it was the medicine and his bronchitis. After two days I noticed he was losing a lot of weight. I made the decision on a Friday evening after dinner to call the doctor first thing Monday morning, something else was wrong.

We never made it to Monday. At 4am Friday night Shaye woke up and started to cry. I went to his room to find him soaked in pee and cold, I got him cleaned up, cleaned his bed and tucked him in again. I sat with him thinking he would go right back to sleep after a few minutes of me holding his hand and talking to him. I noticed now that he wasn't breathing right, he was almost making a gasping sound which seemed to be what was keeping him awake.

I rushed him down the stairs, woke up my sister and we rushed him to the emergency room. He was swarmed right away, everyone focused on his breathing issue first, when nothing came of that they did blood work. The blood work gave us the answers, his blood sugar was 863 and he was in ketoacidosis. My local hospital had us sent to Children's Hospital, we spent three days there watching Shaye get better and learning how to handle this new part of our lives.

Shaye is going to be five soon, he's cried only a few times about his shots or finger sticks and he is an inspiration to all of us that know and love him.

Tiffany Morris
Galion, OH

Spencer's Story

Spencer was diagnosed with T1D in March of 2011 at the age of two, on the same day his little sister was born. One day he came down with the flu but became worse. He struggled with keeping food down, becoming thirsty, wetting the bed even though he was potty trained, dry skin, headaches, and weakness.

His grandma took him to the doctors as his mom was in prep for surgery for a C-section. She learned of his diagnosis as they wheeled her back into surgery. For nearly a week Spencer and his mom remained separated except by phone. Spencer's grandma stayed with him the whole time loving him better and being trained on how to care for him.

Spencer's mom left her hospital early so that she could be there to support him when he left his. Staying at grandma’s house after going home was the best support they had in learning how to medically care for Spencer.

Two years later Spencer is a bright, happy, intelligent, brave young boy. He loves his little sister, spider man, and playing games. Spencer has taken charge of testing himself. He washes and pokes his fingers six to ten times a day to check his glucose levels. He receives two shots every morning and another when eating. In all he usually has 5 shots a day. Spencer has to monitor his numbers even closer with activity, can't leave the house without his tester and insulin bag, check his key-tones when he's sick, visit the doctor for check up's every three months, and keep in close contact to his doctors.

Although diabetes is hard every day it has become easier for everyone. Spencer has wonderful family and friends who support and love him. One of his nurses once said that it was a good thing he was diagnosed so young because he won't remember ever being any different or a life without shots. I hope she was wrong and that he will be able to look back on his life with shots and know he will never have to live like that again.

Meladie
UT, UT

My Survival Story

I have been diabetic for seventeen yrs. Caused by two many steroid injection to close together. I am thankful to be alive,my first sign was in a comma with blood sugars of 1443. And, I made and had another with blood sugars of 1100's. I am thankfull to good Drs. And now my Medtronic Insulin Pump. I am finally stable and doing good. I was treated as Type 2 for 13 yrs and finally a doctor told one lab and found I only made 1% of insulin and then being dianoised as Type 1. It changed everything for the good. I pray someday there will be a cure. It is a awful thing to live with everyday. But, we can all fight the fight, till we no longer have to,due to a cure.God's speed to all that are fighting this fight. God bless those finding the cure.

Anonymous
Pryor, OK

Shelby's Story <3

My name is Shelby Calliham. I am your typical teenager. While I may have diabetes, I have never allowed it to stand between my goals and I have never let it be an excuse of why I cannot reach my true potential, although it has tried to slow me down. I was diagnosed at the age of three, so it has basically always been a part of who I am. I am now 17 years old and I do everything that my friends do. While they may get to eat more, at least diabetes has taught my how to live a healthy life style. I also play softball. Yes, sometimes my blood sugar drops down low and I have to sit the bench; however, this just helps me be grateful for every at bat and inning I get to play. Diabetes can be a tough thing to live with; but personally I feel like it has made me a stronger, more responsible young lady.

Shelby Calliham
North Augusta, SC

Thanksgiving 1993

The week before Thanksgiving, I knew something was wrong, I was going to the bathroom a lot and drinking a lot. I knew that diabetes ran in my family(my grandfather and my sister had and they both died from it). I went to the doctor's and my blood sugar was 463. I spent the whole day there so they could get it down. They told me that I had to lose weight(I was 220 lbs) and changed the way I ate. No more McDonald's, Rally's, KFC, or Great Steak and Potato. They put me on a diet. What took an hour to shop now took over 2 hours cause my wife and I had to read labels. And it changed the way my wife cooked cause she cooked with sugar in most of the meals. She hasd to prepare two sets of meals, one for the family and one for me. But with the grace of God and friends and family, I got my levels down to under 200 and by January of 1994, I lost 30 lbs and haven't to this day, gained it back. I had already was exercising but I had to do more. So I walk after eating my lunch for 30 mins. On days it was too cold to walk, I walk up and down the three floors of my building. I surprised the doctors on the weight gain and the way I got my sugar down. They were so surprised that they had wished all their diabetic patients were as good as controlling the disease as I did. But as I have heard other people say, diabetes doesn't control me, I control diabetes. I am well aware of the side effects and the bad part of these are that I am experiencing some of them, especially the high blood pressure and the fact that it takes forever for the simplest or the most hardest injury to heal. But each day, I pray that there be a cure and that others pray along with those who suffer from this disease.

Richard Cook
Washington Courthouse,, OH

Diagnosed in 1964, still going!

I was diagnosed with type 1 back in the 'dark ages' of diabetes treatment. I was a couple of months short of my 3rd birthday, my mom boiled glass syringes & it took 4 people to hold me down & inject me. Technology has certainly come a long way since then, I do my best to take care of myself. It's a lot of effort but since I know what the consequences are of not making the effort, I make it. I am insulin sensitive & have anti insulin anti bodies, which causes me to be brittle, or very hard to control. I can do everything 'right' & still not wake up in the morning, very aggravating but I have to fight to keep things in as best control that I can. I have had many issues in my life that have made me not care about caring for myself, but I really came to my senses about 20 years ago, when I was told I was in an early stage of kidney failure. I said, ok, that's enough, I'd had many complications prior to this but this needed my undivided attention. Today, I really try to care for myself & my life is good. The photo is from my 50th birthday party which was wonderful. If I'm still around next August, I will have accomplished 50 years of living with difficult diabetes & will apply for a Joslin Medal, what the heck. I've always had difficulties with control & living with the disease, but I learned to keep trying & do what I could to get the help I needed. I hope everyone can do the same, it's really worth it. Oh, I also try to advocate to get people who need help the help they need.

Liz
New York, NY

Little Isabella

At the start of May this year 2013, our beautiful 8 month old girl got unwell, with what seemed like a vomiting bug. We took her to her doctor who agreed that it looked like a bug and advised that we kept an eye on her. During the evening Isabella picked up a bit and was smiling and babbling away but at 10.30 that night she got really sick again and wouldn't stop vomiting and got very drowsy. I took her to our local emergency room where they said the same as our doctor that it looked like a bug but they would admit Isabella overnight to keep an eye on her. A lovely lady doctor came in to take blood from her and couldnt get any veins and at that point Isabella just collasped. She was rushed up to intensive care were they managed to get blood from her and it showed that her sugar levels were very high along with high ketones levels, our beautiful girl had ketoacidosis. We were told she was critically ill and that the next 24 hours were going to be tough. I was told that i should ring family and when i asked if she was going to die, i was told that if i had left her another 2 - 3 hours that it would of been to late for her. She was hooked up to every kind of machine possible. After a week in intensive care our baby made a fantastic turn around and got moved to a childrens ward were she stayed for the rest of the month, she is now on 5 shots a day but she is so good and takes it all in her stride, she really is a remarkable baby girl, On the 15th july coming, Isabella will be fitted with her insulin pump. She has gone through and overcome so much in her short life so far but i know that no matter what Isabella wont let Type 1 Diabetes stop her from doing anything she wants to do. I love you baby girl xx

Catriona Delaney
Ireland, Ireland