I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes 3 weeks before my fifth birthday nobody in my family had diabetes so it was a shock to my whole family. my mom took me to the doctors for a visit because I was acting funny and they told her I needed to be rushed to the hospital my dad was working and my big sister was at the babysitters, the doctors called my dads boss to tell him to get to there office right away my sugar was around 600 at the time and I was only 33 lbs. when my dad got to the doctors my parents loaded me in the car and rushed me to the hospital when we arrived the doctors were already waiting for me. they rushed me into a room and started giving me ivs and insulin and the whole time I was singing to the nurses while my mom cried in the corner. growing up became difficult I could give my self shots and check my sugar by time I was 6 but the kids in my class weren't as understanding as adults they wouldn't include me in many activities and they were afraid they would catch diabetes. although diabetes used to hold me back from doing many things it doesn't anymore. im on the varsity golf team and in the drama club and diabetes doesn't hold me back at all. the kids in my class now are much more understanding now that im older and a senior in high school. I've had diabetes for 14 years and I have experienced the ups and downs and now I know that anything is possible if you don't give up the fight

kristin higgins
okeechobee, FL