I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two weeks after my second birthday. Twenty years later and it is still an everyday battle. I grew up having my parents controlling every aspect of my life so that I could lead a healthy life, when I got into high school and was expected to 'take the reins'..I just didn't do it. I went through years of denial, believing that I could lead a normal healthy life without checking my blood levels, and boy was I wrong. It took a doctor refusing to prescribe me insulin (I hadn't been to an appointment in over two years), overhearing my boyfriend saying I'm slowly killing myself, and feeling 'normal' at 250 (no symptoms) to realize I couldn't live my life this way. I am now on the track to better management of this disease but the negative effects are already present.. high cholesterol, high thyroid, and joint pain to name a few. The message I want to share to anyone who will listen is STOP DENYING IT, YOU ARE A DIABETIC NOW FIGHT THROUGH IT!

Bridget M.
Effort, PA