T1D-Girl

When I was 20 years old and in my second year of Nursing school I had one of the scariest days of my life. As I was walking down the hallway at the hospital where I was doing one of my nursing clinical courses, I could feel my legs turn to jelly. Because I was a Type 1 diabetic, I knew instantly I needed to eat, because my blood sugar was crashing. I headed to the area where my snacks were kept and then one of my patient’s call bell went off. Fearing I would be in trouble if I did not tend to it, I turned and walked towards that room. The next thing I knew I was in the Emergency Room with a nurse attempting to insert an IV. I had no idea what had happened or how I ended up there. I slowly came to my senses and was told they had found me sitting in the corner where our nursing class met each day, awake but incoherent. I was told my blood sugar was 12 when a fellow student found me. The nurses in the ER said they had never seen someone have such a low blood sugar and not be seizing. I never knew a blood sugar could read that low, in fact for me a low blood sugar was around 50. 

I was terrified. Unfortunately, this experience was not the first close call I have ever had. After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of nine, it has been a constant battle trying to get control of my blood sugar and my diabetes. However, after this ER visit, I knew something had to change in the way I managed my diabetes. How could I ever call myself a nurse and help others to take care of themselves when I could not even control my own diabetes?  I knew from that day on that I wanted to be an example to my patients. I would learn and I would experiment and I would find a way to live healthy, happy, and intentionally with my diabetes. Until that point in the ER, diabetes had been there, as this annoying hindrance that if I let it, would keep me from reaching my goals. It was ever-present and to be honest, I hated it most days. I hated feeling like my body was broken and I worried that I would never be able to live a normal life.  My life would never be like everyone else’s. I had never let it keep me from doing what I wanted, but I knew deep down it could if I let it. I was afraid, afraid of losing myself in my diabetes or even worse, losing my life one day.  There was a constant battle inside my heart and mind between being “normal” and being healthy. I decided I needed a new way of living.

Fast forward 20 years later and I am a nurse practitioner and a certified diabetes educator. I have been able to work with diabetic patients for well over 10 years now. I have also been blessed with becoming a mother, something I at times worried I would never get to be. Although I am proud of what I have accomplished, I know that visiting with your endocrinologist once every three months is not enough for patients with diabetes.  Being praised or berated based on your Hemoglobin A1C just isn’t the way to help someone cope with, let alone have success in life with this ever-present disease. One single blood test result to determine your success or failure 3-4 times a year leaves a lot of room for improvement.  Many healthcare providers do not seem to understand what it feels like to actually have diabetes, and how could they?  The focus is more on the numbers and the overall control than on how the patient is coping with their illness. I understand the importance of proper blood glucose control, however, there is more to diabetes care than just the numbers. Most people don't understand that diabetes is with us every single second of every single day. There is no escape, there is no “time off for good behavior”. We, the people living with diabetes are overwhelmed and often feel like we are drowning. 

I am here to change that. I want to share with you some of the battles I have faced with our villain who I call “Diabolic Diabetes”, or for short DD. Although DD tries to get the best of each one of us, I know we are all superheroes fighting this battle every single day of our lives. I want you all to know that you are not alone and there are others who feel lost and hopeless at times. Hopefully, T1D-Girl and her friends will empower you to fight harder and to understand that although some days DD may win the battle, he will not win the war!! I hope you enjoy my attempt at lightening the load that Type 1 Diabetes places on us. May my silly comic book stories help you to continue your battle with the evil Diabolical Diabetes.