My Life As a T1D

Introduction

Note: I wanted to thank Rainshine402 for the amazing cover she made for the book. Hope you enjoy!

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If you are a Diabetes doctor, family member or friend of a diabetic or even a diabetic yourself, I suggest you skip the introduction. Only if you want to, of course. If you are not one of the people mentioned above, then I strongly suggest you keep reading.

Now that we are done with that.....let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is AmCa293 (not my real name but I'm just gonna use it) and I am 14 years old. I live in Ecuador and I was born in Boston, MA. This is the first book on Type 1 diabetes I have written. Most important to know about me is that........are you ready?..........I have TYPE 1 DIABETES.

Now, you are probably thinking "What the heck is this Type 1 diabetes?" That's what I am going to explain. According to Google: "Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy ... Despite active research, type 1 diabetes has no cure. But it can be managed." This is my own definition of Type 1 diabetes or T1D (as I like to call it): "T1D's are people with blood sugar problems and machines attached to their body that help them live." (By the way I just came up with that right now).

Did this confuse you a bit from what you thought type 1 diabetes was? Yes? I thought so. There are many stereotypes about Type 1 diabetes. People mostly get confused with type 2 which is something totally different. Here is an easy way to explain the difference between type 1 and type 2: Type 2: is usually non-insulin dependent, and Type 1: usually is insulin dependent.

There are 5 misconceptions about diabetes: (1) "Type 1 diabetes is caused by obesity or eating too much sugar". Errrrrr...Nope! It is an autoimmune disease that I have but I didn't do anything to myself to get. My body just accidentally attacked itself. (2) "Taking insulin cures diabetes". I think I explained that earlier. The insulin that we take is taken manually as a supplement because our bodies no longer produce any insulin by themselves. (3) "People with diabetes should not play sports or exercise". Incorrect yet again. Exercise actually helps diabetics a lot and we diabetics can do ANYTHING and I mean it! (4) "Only kids can get T1D". Yes, I was diagnosed when I was a kid but that doesn't mean everyone is. Most T1D's are diagnosed when they are kids but, in fact, anybody, at any age can be diagnosed with T1D. (5) "Diabetics aren't allowed to eat sugar". This is the misconception that I hear the most. Let me make this clear: the reason that we take insulin is to eat sugar and live a normal life. Now if you have anymore question about T1D then I suggest you search the webs. Trust me, they are a great place to find answers. But I think that you pretty much understand what I and so many other people in the world have. Now let's get started with my story.

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A/N: I'm not sure how people are going to take to this story. This is the first time I am sharing a really personal story, so please understand if I was to matter-of-fact at the beginning. If you want me to post more please comment below. If I receive at least 6 comments from different people who want more I will post the next chapter.