Marie Gaile

It started with a cough in October which held on until April. I tried all different sorts of medicine and nothing worked. May brought summer and my cough disappeared. I was 17 and enjoying eating all I wanted and losing weight. But soon it wasn’t fun anymore and I was so tired, eating all the time and peeing the rest of the time. On August 4, 1987 a doctor came in my hospital room and told me I had diabetes. I was 5 feet 4 inches and weighed 74 lbs. The next day they put me in a class to learn all about it. I just kept doing whatever the doc said to do. Four months later I had a visit with my doc and wanted to talk to him about going away for college. I explained that my weight is normal and I was eating good and my sugar was good. So I asked, “How much longer will I be on insulin?” He dropped his head and asked if I took the diabetes class when I was in the hospital. Yes! I took the class but I was so tired I don’t remember much. He sat and gave me the talk of how this will be for the rest of my life. So here I am living the rest of my life. I will always be eternally grateful for my doctor’s help and for all my fellow diabetics that have given me support at every turn.