Hannah, 12, Arizona I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes on July 7, 2000.  I started on a pump in April 2002.  I didn't think that it had to take so much work to learn how to use it properly.  I would have to remember to bolus, know how to set basal rates, learn how to change my site, and would have to check on it once in a while to make sure that it was working all right.  I picked these skills up really quickly.  I had to get used to wearing it around my waist.  I also had to remember to bolus for the food that I ate. 

There are many ups and downs to the pump.  The ups are that you only have to get a shot every few days, and you have more flexibility on eating when you want to.  The downs are forgetting to bolus, and if your site goes in wrong you don't get any insulin and you go very high.  That happened to me once and I got very sick. 

The pump has really changed my life.  For all of the kids, pre-teens, and teenagers who are questioning themselves about going on the pump, I would definitely talk to your doctor and see if you could go on the pump.  It is worth it!

Hannah shared her story in the Winter 2004 issue of Countdown for Kids magazine.