Hi, my name is Tia and I am a type one diabetic.

Type one diabetes is an auto-immune

disease that causes the body to attack the pancreas, causing your pancreas to stop
working. This means that when I eat, instead of my own insulin naturally breaking down
sugar to send to different parts of my body, my insulin is not produced.
This means that I have to regularly inject myself with insulin via a needle to ensure
that I stay fit and healthy.
I do not remember much about how I found out that I had diabetes, all I remember is
that…
It started one day when I was 5.

I was on my way to London with my Mum to go to the Natural History Museum.

On the way I kept drinking and eating, once I’d finished drinking one drink I was already
drinking another.

It was non-stop and the more I drank, the worse I felt. My Mum was getting worried.

Even with the distractions around me, it still wouldn’t stop.

The drinking and eating lasted all day and as you can see, it wasn’t very normal. On
the way home my Mum decided to take me to the doctors. She got an appointment
for me for the next day and I was taken out of school, which I was very happy
about! Although once I realised I was going to the doctors, I think I would have
preferred to stay at school.

When we got there the doctor tested me for a few things and spoke to my Mum
about each of the test. He knew that there was something wrong with me and told
us to go to the hospital that night. So we went home and packed our bags.

We rushed over to the hospital and spoke to one of the specialist doctors and that’s
when we were told that I was diabetic.

It all happened so quickly and I hardly remember any of it of it now, which I guess is
quite nice because I was only 5 and it was quite a change for me. A lot of people like
to say “It must have been hard for you” and “Oh no, I feel so sorry for you”, but
it’s natural to me now, I don’t remember a life without injecting myself and testing my
blood sugar.

Although I am used to having to test my blood sugar and inject, I do still, at times, feel
self-conscious about it. Due to the amount I test my blood sugars, and for ease of
access, in the past I have tested my blood sugars on my arms and fingers. I used to
test more on my arms because I was worried about my fingers becoming sore and
not being about to feel properly. This has resulted in my arms becoming more and
more bruised, making it seem as though I’ve been taking drugs. Which has definitely not
happened.
Due to this, I have become more comfortable with testing and injecting in front of
people, sometimes, depending on the location and where I am sitting, I inject myself in
public. I make sure that if I do then it is discrete. I have had it a couple of times while
I’ve been out in public and injected my insulin and people on other tables have starred
at me, even though I have tried my best to hide the fact that I am doing it. Most of
the people that look at me are older people and I do find it very aggravating that
people tend to stare, even once I have realised they are, and then continue to stare
throughout the whole time I am injecting. I have said to multiple people that I know
that I would prefer them to speak to me and ask me questions rather than making
me feel uncomfortable. It may not be completely natural but if I don’t do it then I
would result in my becoming really unwell.
I do find living with diabetes hard at times, feeling unwell and getting stressed because
of how it is making me feel. I have learned over the years, to control my diabetes.
When I was younger it used to rule my life, making me feel anxious and concerned
about whether I was safe being by myself, in case something went wrong. Over the
years I have ‘tamed’ it, making sure I have back up plans in case something goes
wrong and always telling people close to me about it, in case I need their help.
Looking back now, being in control of my life from a young age has helped me to
develop into who I am today.
Diabetes does not control me. It is a part of me.