Have you gone through a particularly rough time in your diabetes management? How did you deal with it?

    I will agree that everyday can be a struggle.

    I was diagnosed 11 yrs ago to the month with diabetes...wow, I can’t believe it's been that long already. I remember the day perfectly clear I remember walking in to the dr.'s office with my mom and siblings and then waiting there for the doctor to come in...and then there he was....with the lab results and the statement to my mom of "she has diabetes." and after hearing that going to my dads work to tell him and the look on their faces.... I will never forget the day that changed my life forever. I mean here I was the day before eating my "now'n laters" that I had won at the church carnival and that day being told I couldn't have them anymore.

    I would say one of the biggest struggles was elementary for me. I didn't like being different. But my first day of second grade and first day of school with diabetes it was time for me to go to the office and have my morning snack...well I didn't want to go so when the teacher sent me I didn't go. I kind of wandered around a little bit and then went back to class to make think I had gone...but she found out and made me sit out at recess time to eat it...I know now that it was wrong of me to do that but I was only 7 and now at this I didn't know any better, she didn't need to punish me for it.

    Another big factor was the trust issue. It seems like no matter what I did no one would trust me. My mom wouldn't trust that I could take care of myself if I went to a friends house, my teachers wouldn't believe me if I had gone and eaten my snack and tested my blood sugar at the right times they would call to the office and make sure I did. Finally a little over 2 years ago when I made the decision that I wanted to go on the insulin pump and took the responsibility of researching each one and deciding which one would be best for me and doing everything my doctors and nurses told me to has my mom finally learned to trust me and believe that I can do all of this on my own. The pump is great before it my A1C's were always in the 8's or greater and now it's 7.1% which is the lowest it's been in my entire life... thank you so much to whoever invented them.

    This fall I will embark on a new journey of going to college, which right now is very scary and very exciting all at the same time. I'll be moving away from home and meeting new people, doing new things. Honestly I think the hardest part diabetes related will be making sure I get my supplies when I need them. The other hard part will be being without my family after growing up with 4 siblings and older brother and older sister, a twin and a little sister none of which are diabetic - thank God. I wouldn't wish this disease on anybody however there are times I wish sometimes they could just understand.

    I could use a few friends who know what I'm going through to keep in touch with when I go away to college. Feel free to give me an e-mail at AL_BBallchic@yahoo.com .

- Becca, Type 1, 17-20