Personal Narrative: My Experience With Type I Diabetes

From the outset of my life, I have memories of my older sister pricking her skin with a sharp needle at every meal we shared. In the younger years, I struggled with the appropriate emotion. Should I feel bemused? Intrigued? Condoling? As naturally as breathing, I felt them all. When she received the life-altering diagnosis, I was five years old and felt as futile then as I do now to the trials she faces with Type I Diabetes. All I wanted was to help her but I felt helpless. As years passed, I realized that I could help her by being a proactive bystander, cognizant of the symptoms and equipped with solutions. Last year, my twenty-four year old brother was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. Surprising everyone, it seemed unlikely he would become diagnosed, especially as a young adult. This permanently altered the path of his entire life. He suddenly faced short-term routine changes and long-term health complications. My siblings’ diagnoses had a profound effect on my …show more content…
Initially, my knowledge of this struggle was limited but grew with time, experience, and exposure. What was a chronic diagnosis for my siblings became an ever-present learning opportunity for me. This ultimately gave me a fuller understanding of the reality that people like my brother and sister live daily. After growing tired of attending the same charity runs, walks, and other events to raise awareness, I began to think of other ways in which I can make my own contribution to this disease leading to finding a cure. To broaden my scope of understanding, and fully grasp what my brother and sister grapple with, I conducted extensive research on diabetes. With that, I aim to present facts from a fresh perspective and spread awareness for Type I Diabetes. My urgency for action grows stronger as I continue to witness what my siblings face every day and it won’t stop until there’s a