How Being Diagnosed

with Type One Diabetes Changed
My Life for the Better

I was first diagnosed with Type One Diabetes (T1D) at age 10. I thought life as I knew it was over. I worried that diabetes would prohibit me from playing sports or having sleepovers with my friends. This, of course, was not how life with diabetes played out for me.

Shortly after my diagnosis, I found out about the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDRF) OneWalk, a three-mile walk that raises awareness and funds for T1D research. At that moment, Team Eden was born. Building a support system, raising funds and planning for our walk, I began to feel I had something to strive for. Just two months after my diagnosis, I walked arm in arm with friends and family across the OneWalk starting line as Team Eden was announced. It was one of the happiest moments in my life.

Leading Team Eden for the past seven years and becoming a JDRF Youth Ambassador has been so rewarding. I advocate for Type One Diabetes awareness on my social media page @educatingwitheden and educate those living with this chronic illness on how to live their best lives. I have written for a national teen magazine, have been featured on health podcasts, at medical conferences and have had wonderful opportunities to mentor newly diagnosed kids.

I used to think having diabetes would make my life worse. While I will always hope for a cure, many people are surprised to hear that I would never wish to take away my diagnosis. I now realize that my life, though often challenging, was changed for the better.

We appreciate the monthly columns submitted by the students in the journalism department at Westfield High School.