College student. What comes to mind? Late nights, junk food, football weekends, beer, wild weekends, Animal House? Yes. College is often all these and more. Now add Type I Juvenile Diabetes to this mix. What do you get? A juggling act. As a Type I Diabetic of almost 18 years I thought I knew every obstacle I would face. It was not until I began the perilous journey through the traps and pitfalls of college that I realized there were many challenges I was yet to face, and much more to learn.
During my first week on campus at Purdue University I met countless new faces, I was taken to house parties, I had a paper due on the second day of class, I decided to rush a fraternity, and I found a new calling, rugby. This crazy new lifestyle called for improvisation and adaptation. High school was simple and it was easy to manage as a diabetic. My meals were scheduled for me. All I had to do was count the carbohydrates and dial up my insulin pump. Once I arrived at college I was on my own. I could eat whenever I wanted and however much I wanted. I didn’t have a curfew. I didn’t have parents telling me what to do. And if I deemed it necessary, class was optional. The potential traps were endless and sometimes hard to avoid. But by keeping myself educated on the tricks of the trade and aspiring to live a healthy and active lifestyle I have become successful as both a Type I diabetic and an easy-going college student.
The juggling act is really about following a finely tuned schedule that allows me to do all the things I need and want to do, while maintaining tight control over my blood sugars and insulin levels. There will always be struggles, and even failure. But it is the successes that have encouraged and inspired me to want to help others. If I could, I would prevent every other diabetic from suffering the hard lessons. I want to use my skills and passion to help educate those who are struggling with this disease, and help build a network of dedicated advocates who will work closely with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in finding a cure.
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