Ignorance can at times be a great blessing. I was just 3 years old when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My mother recollects that it was 8th of December of 1999 , when she took me to a doctor thinking I had a urine infection due to which I kept wetting the bed all the time and that anti biotics would cure me soon. Tests were done and suspicion was created when another doctor was called over. They declared I had type 1 Diabetes. Three days in hospital and we came out armed with insulin and other medications. Back then I was too young to realize what was happening. All I remember was my mother saying “you are the strongest my baby and nothing will stop you ever”. Seeing my mother’s strength as I grew older inspired me to live with courage and face life with dignity.

My trip to Disney Land ended in a hospital room; I woke up and found that numerous tubes sprang from my body and opening my eyes I saw my mother sitting by my side with tearful eyes. I stayed at the hospital and was recuperating well. I even learned how to give myself my own shots. The only devastating moment I remember was that one day I broke down crying. It was the fear of needles that had been immersing me for long and then suddenly it burst out. Over the years I started meditating and now injecting insulin through syringes has become similar to brushing my teeth every morning. My life is surely different than my peers, but despite that I like taking things as they come and hope to see a cure to type 1 diabetes before my life ends. 

My name is Austin Cooper and I sure feel lucky to be alive today. It was during last winter when it all started with extreme levels of illness and a thirst that would just not get quenched. With passage of time my vision started to get blur and I would literally run into walls. Then a time came when I stopped making sense and this was when my family took me to the hospital where I lay unconscious for 12 hours. My sugar levels had reached a whooping 1588 and the doctors claimed that half an hour of delay would have ended my life. When recovered I was overwhelmed that life gave me a second chance and decided that I would make the most of it. It’s been 13 years now since I have started a business of making medical jewelry and I live happily with my diabetes.

I am 17 years old and I have a 12 years experience with diabetes. At 5 years of age all I would growl about is that “I don’t want to have an operation”. I had no friends in kindergarten as they thought I had a contagious disease. I used to come back home, lock myself in my room and cry for long hours. At 7, I joined the Clara Barton group, where there were about 50 other girls with diabetes and finally I found a place where I wasn’t an outcast. Then at 15 I went on a pump and life changed completely. I was happy even when I was denied the membership of gym and sports team. The only embarrassing moments were when I had to reveal it to my new boyfriends. They always used to leave on their sudden discovery of my condition. Today I am 17 and for the first time I have a boyfriend who loves me despite diabetes. These days I proudly proclaim “I love having diabetes and diabetics are 10 times cooler than regular people”.

Following my 15th birthday celebrations I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and it came as a shock and surprise both as there was no apparent history of diabetes on either side of my family. My mother became paranoid about my disease and would not treat me as a normal person; her life started revolving around balancing my food and insulin so that a neutral glucose level could be maintained in my body. As I grew older I wanted some independence and my mother would just not allow it. Finally my doctor taught me how to inject insulin using a fountain pen like device despite that my mother would not leave me alone. I understood her concern, but living a normal life was equally important for me. It was my father who decided to send me far away for college despite my condition. Today on my 25th birthday, my mom and I have managed to become friends and we can bear each other without provocation.