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| Erika and John Sneed from Disetronic |
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| This picture was taken in December of 2002 at my support group meeting with my insulin pump trainer. |
Diabetes has been one of the hardest aspects of my life. When I was eleven I found out that I had diabetes. It was so scary
and I thought that it was the end of the world. Now I see it as sort of a gift if that makes any sense to anyone. The reason
is, I have met so many people through my disease. I have been able to make a difference in someones life and that is very
rewarding. I found out that this is not the end of the world there are far worse diseases that one can have. Diabetes is treatable
and one can live a long, happy, healthy life. As long as you don't let diabetes take over your life you can do anything.
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Through my work with diabetes I have found that teens with diabetes go through a period of denial. This is something that
I see all to often in the people in my support group. I went through it myself. this usually happens when the kid is fed up
with all the shots and finger sticks. Also this can happen when parents turn the responsibility over to the child and the
kid realizes how easy it is to go off their plan. All teenagers go through a rebellious stage but with diabetes this is far
more dangerous. For the fact that their life is in jeopardy. Once I figured out that I was not helping myself by lying to
my parents and not taking my shots I stopped. I finally said what am I doing to myself? Why am I doing this too myself? I
knew why I was doing this. I wanted an insulin-pump and I knew that the only way was to get really sick and that would be
the only thing that would help. I am ashamed at what I did but at the same time grateful. Grateful because I got a pump and
I am going to be healthier for it but, ashamed because I was selfish for not taking care of myself and that was foolish. My
advice to all teenagers who are in denial, think about what you are doing and answer this question,"Is this worth my
life."
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