Staying positive
Casey, 17, from Oklahoma, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 10 and has always found it difficult to maintain the energy to stay in school for a full day. For her, the hardest thing is keeping focus on school and fighting the lack of sleep after a night of battling blood sugar spikes. To help her get through tough times like this, she says that getting involved in the fight for the cure for diabetes is the perfect "therapy." Knowing her efforts will help find a cure and teaching others about diabetes encourages her to fight through those difficult days.
Trevor, age 11, feels the same way. In June of 2003, he went to Washington, D.C., as a JDRF Children's Congress delegate from the state of Michigan. There he met with his Members of Congress to tell them about his life with diabetes and ask them to provide more money for diabetes research.
Trevor loves sports and knows he can participate as long as he keeps track of his blood sugars and has plenty of supplies. Before practices and games, he pricks his finger to check his blood sugar and makes sure he is ready to play. One complaint he has, however, is, "My friends won't tackle me because they're worried they'll knock out my pump." Trevor's positive attitude helps him to keep his "diabetes layer" from becoming overwhelming. He uses stares and questions as chances to teach others. The only time he gets annoyed with questions is when he's in the middle of checking his blood and gets distracted.
