This story is about my daughter, Carol. Her story is not really much different from those who live with diabetes every day, but it is HER story.
Carol was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10. She got very ill, but it came about slowly. She was so sick that she ended up being airlifted to Chicago to be stabilized and then our diabetes lifestyle began.
Yes, I said diabetes lifestyle. Living life with Type 1 diabetes is no ordinary life. You have to be conscious of what goes into your mouth. Each carb counted and weighed. We always told Carol that having diabetes does not change WHO you are, it just changes HOW you take care of yourself. We decided early on that Carol could, and would, live her life like her friends did, no limits. She went to diabetes camp as a camper and a junior counselor, and attended a basketball camp for kids with diabetes. She went on a trip to Arizona with people from the diabetes camp. She went on 3 mission trips with her school. During all of these events, Carol managed her own diabetes care, making decisions on how much insulin she need, what to change in her regimen depending on what she was doing and maintaining a lifestyle that was (and is) uniquely her own. We taught her early on about managing her own care because I knew that someday, she would have to be able to live on her own.
Fast forward 10 years. Carol is now a junior in college. She lives away from home 9 months out of the year. She carries a full load of classes, goes out with her friends, is active with the student leadership organization at school AND managing her own diabetes. She is my inspiration because she lives her life the way SHE wants to live it, NOT how she is told to live it by those who don't know her and have preconceived notions about how diabetes "should" look.
I am proud of Carol and hope you are inspired by her.
DeMotte, IN
