A message from Sarah (Sarah's first blog post!)

Hi. My name is Sarah. I'm my mama's daughter. This week my school had a jog-a-thon and I didn't do it because my insulin pump clip was broken. So I had to stay in another classroom (third grade). The teacher was talking to the students about sugar. Some student asked the teacher about juvenile diabetes. The teacher replied "Well, I used to give a kid insulin shots. You can die easily from juvenile diabetes". And I thought, "No, you can not!"


I have been living with type 1 diabetes for over a year and I haven't died. And I plan to live to be at least 100 years old. I know this man that my mom has been talking about and he has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 65 years! And he is in good health.

So what we're going to do now is a whole presentation to the staff at my school about type 1 diabetes. Even though there are three kids with type 1 diabetes at my school, the teachers still don't understand type 1. I am excited that my mom and I are going to actually talk in front of the whole staff and teach them about living with type 1 diabetes.



People need to understand type 1 diabetes because it's not the same thing as type 2 diabetes. I'm not overweight, and I certainly do not need a new diet. I have not changed my diet since I was diagnosed. The only thing I cannot eat is poison, and cookies....made with poison (I totally love that video!). So, I can pretty much eat whatever I want as long as I test my blood sugar before I eat and take insulin.

I want people to know that it's not easy to die from type 1 diabetes, as long as you take care of yourself and keep control of your blood sugar. I test myself at mealtimes and snacktimes, and I give myself insulin and..... EAT! I eat healthy and try not to graze or overeat. I always listen to my body, and if I don't feel right, I test my blood sugar. Sometimes if my blood sugar is low I feel shaky and dizzy. And if my blood sugar is high I have a headache. If my blood sugar is low - like under 70 - , I eat a marshmallow (yum!) and wait 15 minutes to test again. If my blood sugar is high I correct myself with a dose of insulin. If it's high at night, my mom takes care of me by testing me while I sleep and giving me insulin when I need it. My mom is so caring, wise and supportive. I couldn't have asked for a better one.



If you think I'm lucky that I get to eat marshmallows, I'm not because I still have to live with shots and testing my blood. People who don't have type 1 can eat a marshmallow just to eat it - but for me, it's actually medicine.

I really have learned a lot since my diagnosis and I will try to be as supportive as I can to other kids living with type 1 diabetes. :-)



Me and my friend Megan having a blood sugar contest (fun!)