Personal Narrative: The Disease That Changed My Life
“If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll die in a coma.”
At just seven years old, these were the kinds of warnings I received from my parents. After being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, nothing was the same. Glucose levels, insulin dosage, shots all over, bruised fingers, blood everywhere. Reality came crashing down on me as I realized that this disease of mine would burden me for the rest of my life. At least, that’s how it seemed in my naïve, four-foot world. Eventually, I got over that trauma, but I am still witnessing the effects of this event that happened so many years ago. That experience jolted me into a hyper-progressive maturation and an increased sense of responsibility that has followed me into academia.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t
At just seven years old, these were the kinds of warnings I received from my parents. After being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, nothing was the same. Glucose levels, insulin dosage, shots all over, bruised fingers, blood everywhere. Reality came crashing down on me as I realized that this disease of mine would burden me for the rest of my life. At least, that’s how it seemed in my naïve, four-foot world. Eventually, I got over that trauma, but I am still witnessing the effects of this event that happened so many years ago. That experience jolted me into a hyper-progressive maturation and an increased sense of responsibility that has followed me into academia.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t