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What do you remember about being diagnosed? Was it hard adjusting?
When first being diagnosed, I can't remember everything because I was only 4 years old. I remember being in the hospital and having a corner room which was very colorful. The empty bed to the right of me had lots of flowers, Barbie dolls, and teddy bears. It was hard adjusting to it, one thing I remember was eating a bowl of oatmeal perfectly measured out for a whole week so my mom and i could get the insulin amounts correct. I basically ate the same foods for a month until she understood exactly how to exchange food because at the time we were doing "food exchange" and not counting carbs. But before long, we all got the hang of it so I could have more variety in my diet. I'm sure it was hard for my family, since no one in our family ever had diabetes. Luckily, I was raised to eat healthy so I never ate a lot of candy and my snacks were usually fruit. The hardest thing was regulating the amount of fruit I ate.
What kind of treatment are you on? What do you like about it?
Well for 7 years, I was on an insulin cocktail, of Regular and NPH and Humolog. Since 2000, I started insulin pumping and would never go back to shots. I love the pump and can't imagine life without an insulin pump. Currently, i have the Deltec Cozmo in sky blue and I used to have the Minimed 508. They were great pumps. I like insulin pumps because I would rather use a needle to insert my pump site every other day than take 4-6 shots a day.
How did you tell your friends about your diabetes? What was their reaction?
Telling my friends about my diabetes has become a funny story. There's always something new that someone says now. I'm very open with it and don't mind or get offended when People ask me questions. I'd rather them ask me questions than not knowing and always having to wonder. I tell them I have diabetes and it's a disease where my body doesn't produce insulin. I have an insulin pump where it delivers insulin to me and i test my blood sugars about 10 times a day. Sometimes more when i have a cold or the insulin goes. bad. All my friends and the people I know think its cool and say that I'm a stronger person and they give me a lot of credit for taking such good care of myself all these 12 years. Some people who don't understand the demands of being a diabetic just say, "Oh that sucks."
What kinds of things do you do for fun and how do make sure diabetes doesn't interfere?
The kinds of things I do for fun....well. I love singing and doing anything with music. Singing is my passions and main goal in life, to become a professional singer with my twin sister, Jackie. I make sure my diabetes doesn't interfere with it by testing my blood sugar often and take care of myself.
What is the hardest thing about living with diabetes?
The hardest thing about living with diabetes is the loss of spontaneity because I always have to prepare for everything. Another hard thing is the disappointment when I work so hard to control my blood sugar and my
A1C is higher than it's supposed to be.
 Do you have a good experience that has come from having diabetes?
But being a diabetic has made me more compassionate and
understanding of other people and their difficulties has allowed me to
meet people and make friends around the world, and has given me an inner
strength that I think only comes from being constantly challenged. And
anything in life that can make you stronger, I think this is a good
thing.
You've been a diabetes advocate for 10 years. Why did you get started and what do you hope to accomplish?
Initially I began my advocacy with Jackie, my mom and aunt because I realized very early in life that I wanted to do something to help others as well as my self. I couldn't just sit around and wait for someone else to find the cure, Jackie and I felt strongly that we had to do our part.
What's the most interesting thing that has happened to you while being a diabetes advocate?
There are two events that stand out; one was when Jackie and I were selected as delegates to represent Nevada at the First JDRF Children's Congress. However, the most exciting and interesting thing that has happened as a result of our advocacy, hands down, has been our meeting with President Bush, there have been three meetings altogether.
Why do you think advocacy is important and how can other teens get started?
Advocacy is more then important, it is critical to continued awareness of the public and most important funding of diabetes research; young advocates really do make a difference! Anyone can be an advocate by getting involved with his or her local diabetes events, like JDRF's Walk for the Cure. They can also write letters to their representatives asking them to continue and even increase funding for diabetes research. Young people can ask to speak at their schools and explain what diabetes is and what they have to do to stay healthy. Explain why diabetics do things like take shots, test their blood sugar and how their friends can recognize the symptoms of high and low blood sugar…explain that this is knowledge that could someday save the life of a loved one. Also, volunteer to be interviewed…go public and tell people what it is like to live with diabetes and why it is important to find the cure.
Why do you think it's important to have support from other teens with diabetes?
It's important to have support from other teens with diabetes because for me, I know I would've loved having someone around with diabetes and not always having to explain it to my friends that don't have diabetes. They know how I feel and my friends will never understand unless they actually have the disease. However, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. But having support from other teens is great to know someone who will be there when you just want to talk about diabetes and not have to explain all the feelings and details.
If a newly diagnosed teen came up to you and asked you to tell them three things they should know about living with diabetes, what would you say?
Test, Test and Test again! Good diabetes management is based upon knowing about your blood sugar number. By closely monitoring your blood sugar and making corrections for low and high blood sugar, you are better able to live a healthier life, as well as, a more normal life. Now I'll give you the answer everyone is probably expecting. Learn as much as you can about diabetes and the factors that affect the management of your diabetes, in particular understand nutrition, become a dietician, you can learn what to eat, when you can have special snacks and how to adjust your insulin accordingly. Understand insulin and how it works in your body, as well as, the factors that affect the way an individual absorbs insulin and how to adjust your insulin for sleep, work, play, and especially exercise.
Have you ever been depressed about having diabetes? How did you deal with that?
I've never been depressed about having diabetes. I keep a positive attitude about life and refuse to feel bad about having a disease that I know can be controlled, it doesn't control me. And it could be much worse!
Who is your inspiration?
My inspiration is my twin sister, Jackie. Jackie has always been an amazingly compassionate person. I have known siblings of other diabetics who resent the attention their brother or sister require due to their disease. They lose patience with the problems caused by their sibling's diabetes and all too often rebel, or show apathy towards their family. I am truly conscience of how fortunate I am to have a sister like Jackie, who knowing that I felt guilty because my diabetes caused her to waste valuable time for studying, only knew how to react in a loving way. She never chastised me knowing I could have been more attentive to my blood sugar and could have done a better job of managing my diabetes.
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