I have type one (juvenile) diabetes and was diagnosed in March of 2001. Not going to lie, diabetes sucks. A lot. But at the same time, it's all I've really known my whole life. When you have diabetes for 16 years of your life everything becomes a norm, it's not something that is constantly bothering you.

The thing with diabetes is that my pancreas doesn't produce the hormone, insulin, that is needed to break down the glucose, sugars, in my blood. A lot of times this leads people to think that I can't eat sugar because my body won't break it down. Technically those people are correct, but with the help of modern science I am able to eat all the food a "normal person" can with the help of my insulin pump.

An insulin pump does exactly what it sounds like it should do, it pumps insulin into my body since my pancreas cannot produce its own insulin. Insulin is constantly being pumped into my body hourly, when blood sugars are high, and when I eat food. "Wow so you have like an artificial pancreas then right?!" Sadly, wrong. Even though the pump seems to work like a pancreas I have to program it to know how much insulin to give me each hour and for how much I eat. On top of that, I have to manually enter my blood glucose readings and the amount of carbs I ate in order for the pump to give the insulin my body needs. Because my pump doesn't know when or how much insulin to give me it is technically not an artificial pancreas, but it definitely gets the job done and I'm thankful for that.

Now that a basic understanding of diabetes has been explained, how does one live with diabetes? The answer to that question is very simple...

YOU JUST DO!

I know what you're thinking, "There has to be more." Nope. Living with diabetes is just living life. Now if were to go back in time before the year 1921 when the discovery of man-made insulin happened, it would be such a different answer. As humans we are always progressing in the field of medicine, which is phenomenal! Before the discovery of man-made insulin, there was absolutely no way for people with diabetes to get the hormone into their system to help regulate and maintain a healthy blood glucose level; ultimately, they would most likely die. Today diabetics like myself have devices that help us monitor, regulate, and maintain a healthy blood glucose level in our bodies. "But Allison, you said you had to program those devices." Yes, you're right, but I've also had this device all my life and have learned to live and use it. I don't speak for all diabetics when I say this only because diabetes can be diagnosed at different ages in life but for me personally, someone who has diabetes as long as they can remember, I've always lived a normal life with diabetes because it's the only life I've known. I have the medical resources that make having diabetes as close to a "normal life" as possible.

So, please, the next time you find out someone has diabetes don't have pity on their life, I honestly hate that and all pity in general, just treat them like a normal human being because that's pretty much it. Yes it sucks but we're all in it together, we're all making the best of it, and we're all waiting for a cure.

To find out more information on Juvenile Diabetes and to help find a cure, feel free to visit the JDRF website:

https://www2.jdrf.org/site/SPageServer/;jsessionid=00000000.app334a?NONCE_TOKEN=D0ED6003D0C291EDABBA22EEC6867964&pagename=walk_homepage