Jacqueline Vaccaro

I was diagnosed in 1999 when I was 10 years old. I was at a winter camp and on the second night I had a root beer float. That yummy beverage was ultimately the thing that pushed me hard into the realm of Type 1 diabetes. Thankfully, my counselor was a nurse and she recognized that I wasn’t just dealing with food poisoning and immediately called my parents. My parents made the three hour trip in about 90 minutes to come get me. On the way back, we stopped quickly to get gas and I remember absolutely guzzling a huge bottle of water. They rushed me to an urgent care to see our family doctor who happened to be a great diagnostician. After running a few tests, my doctor exclaimed, “Did anyone test her blood sugar?!”. I’m not sure if it was just because it was the ’90s and no one really thought about diabetes, but I’m thankful that he had his “light bulb” moment. My blood sugar was 389 and my doctor immediately called the ER of a nearby hospital to let them know that we were on our way. At this point, I was going in and out of consciousness, but I remember getting to the hospital and the nurses rushing to me and my dad yelling at them because there was no way that they would be able to keep him from going in the back with me. I heard later that they did let him through. I was in a coma for four days and at the hospital for seven days. When I woke up, my whole life had changed. However, the Lord, my parents, sisters, and friends have gotten me through all of the highs and lows over the past 25 years. My mom was my biggest supporter and battle buddy in my journey until two years ago when she went to heaven. This award is dedicated to her.