Type 1 Diabetes Reflection Paper

It all came down in third grade, when I was lying down on a hospital bed. As I was lying down not knowing what was going on, the doctor came saying I had type 1 diabetes. At the time, I did not understand what diabetes was and how it would impact my life. All I knew was that my life would never be the same. My parents were worried that I would not be able to do things that other kids did, but as it turned out, growing up and being the young girl and having the responsibilities made me who I am today.
My first reaction when I heard the news was to ask if I will ever be able to eat doughnuts again. I had a feeling that the life I knew was going to change. Fast food and desserts were immediately eliminated from my diet. During birthday parties, I had to turn down the sugary menu. Eventually, my new healthy diet helped manage my blood sugar levels and taught me an important lesson, which was feeling well starts with eating well.
I also had to learn to listen to my body. At first, I did not recognize the symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. I slowly started to match the dizzy, shaky feeling with low blood sugars and the nauseous moody feeling with high blood sugars. With this knowledge in …show more content…
In elementary school, my classmates would ask me questions like “Can you not eat sugar ever again?” I knew that others did not understand what it was like to be in my shoes, so I always answered their questions with patience. Sometimes, it was hard being the only child at school who had diabetes. Even though I had my family and many friends who supported me, I felt alone. Being a diabetic was new to me and I had no role models who was diabetic to show me the way. I had to learn about diabetes through experience. I knew others were trying hard to understand my diabetes too, but they could never know how it felt to have huge responsibilities that directly affected their