My name is Robin and I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 6 years old. I was like any other kid, playing outside, scraping my knees, laughing with my friends and my sister, and checking my blood sugars. It was normal for me, until I hit my adolescent age. Then things really started to change. Around 12 years old, I started experiencing feelings of overwhelming loneliness. I was so tired of having diabetes that I thought that maybe if I stopped acknowledging it, it'll go away. Boy, was I wrong! Then around 19 years old, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a goiter and Grave's disease. Then, in 2009 at the age of 22, I woke up one morning and couldn't see. After numerous doctor appointments, I was told I had gone blind in my right eye. Then, at 24 years old, I found out my kidneys were failing. Less than a year later, in November of 2012, I started dialysis. However, through all these complications, there was still a light at the end of my dark tunnel. I was told that I would make a perfect candidate for a double transplant. Having never heard of this before, I inquired more information about it. What a double transplant means is I would get a new kidney along with a new pancreas. Wait... What?! No more kidney failure and no more diabetes? All I could do was cry tears of joy. Something I only dreamt about for 20 years was actually going to come true. A normal life, without diabetes, is in my future. August 16, 2013 is when I'll go in for my first evaluation to determine if I really do make an ideal candidate for a double transplant. So, my advice to those with diabetes is even when you feel the battle is never ending, that you just can't take anymore, please always remember that even though it's raining now, doesn't mean sunshine isn't soon to follow. Stay strong, we're all in this together.

Robin Knight
Buford, GA