Olivia Beyers Englert

I was diagnosed with T1d in the 8th grade the day before Thanksgiving. I went to a routine doctors appointment where they tested my blood sugar and sent me straight to the hospital and I spent Thanksgiving getting my training. It was hard to transition into life with diabetes when I thought I already knew what life was supposed to look like for me and especially when I didn’t know anyone else who had it. I struggled on and off for years before going into DKA during my senior year of college. That was enough for me to finally accept that my life can still flourish with diabetes and that I could still live the life I wanted while taking care of myself. That was four years ago and I have finally found my happy place where I am proud to talk about my diabetes and I can connect with other with T1ds who have struggled in their diagnosis journey.