I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes, insulin dependant, at the age of 17, a senior in high school. It took me a long time to come to terms with this, that I have Diabetes and will for the rest of my life. I have gone through a lot of things since then and I am still struggling with this. I was doing so well with it, my A1c was down to 5.8% and then I found out I was pregnant. I struggled the entire 9 months and ended up having my baby 3 and a hlaf weeks early. It was very scary for me because I had to watch my blood sugars constantly. I was at my Endocrinologist and OB/GYN every week practically checking to make sure everything was okay. Pregnant women already have restrictions, I had way more restrictions because of my Diabetes. I gained a lot of weight and to this day I am still struggling with that. My sugars have been up and down and I have a hard time keeping up with things. I am determined to get everything back on track and with the help of finding a cure for Diabetes I will be on my way to a healthier life!

Emily Sunderman
Columbus, OH