Hannah Myhre

I was very sick in 1999 when I was diagnosed. My dad has had type 1 since he was seven years old and he is 69 years old now. His father had type 1 also. He was born in 1921 and passed away in 2010. My dad, being diabetic, had always bribed my brother and I with Skittles twice a year so he could test our blood sugars to monitor for this disease. There was no indication until I fell ill in December 1999. My mom thought it was the flu, but my dad suspected diabetes. He checked my blood sugar and it was in the 300s. He called his endocrinologist and he got me into the office right away. It was an easy diagnosis and I started insulin very quickly. It was strange because two of my friends were diagnosed with type 1 within two months of me. We attended a kids’ diabetic summer camp with them and learn a lot. In 2010 I came down with ketoacidosis and almost lost my life. I was hospitalized for a week and that was the turning point for me. I buckled down and tried harder to manage this disease.