I was diagnosed with type one Diabetes the day after I turned two. I don't remember it much myself, other than playing in the Children's Hospital playroom while hooked up to an IV, but I've heard the story of what lead to my diagnosis more than a few times. There's even video footage of me on my birthday while my parents sing "happy birthday" and I scream that all I want is pudding (even though my mom made a cake from scratch that year- I'll never be able to make that up to her). For a few weeks before then my parents said I'd been acting strange. I was super cranky and sleepy, thirsty and had to use the bathroom a lot. I also lost a lot of weight over the course of about two weeks. On my birthday, all of that sort of culminated and my parents finally thought maybe it was time to take me to the hospital. I've never really known anything other than being a diabetic.
The best thing I ever did was go to Diabetes Camp. I personally went to Lions Camp Merrick in Nanjemoy Maryland, and it was one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for. I met so many amazing people who were going through or had gone through everything that I was going through. I made so many friends who I still keep in touch with even though I don't go to the camp anymore. I highly recommend Diabetes camp for any kid with type one. It gave me a lot of much needed confidence and support, plus it was so much fun! I still find myself humming the campfire songs around my apartment. Diabetes is a tough thing to live with, but there are ways to make it feel like less of a burden and camp was certainly the biggest thing that helped me.
Chicago, IL
