William Cross

I was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 9 while my dad was serving in the USAF. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital getting regulated and learning a little about caring for myself and managing my diabetes. At the time this meant using a test tube to do urine tests to see if there was glucose spilling into my urine, learning about the “exchange system” to manage my diet and learning how to inject myself with a single injection of NPH insulin. I went to diabetes camp the first summer after diagnosis, but I don’t think I met another T1D in a social setting until college. As time has passed it’s been exciting to see technology and treatment change and to adopt that technology to help with the management of the disease. My early years were spent in less than tight control, but as they say with age comes wisdom. Well, at least some wisdom. for me developing diabetic retinopathy in my early 20s was my wake-up call to put the right level of effort into using the tools available to me. My retinopathy has been stable ever since. I’ve a family now, kids and grandkids. I’ve remained active and have had the opportunity to travel all over the world. So, while there are still frustrating days with the diabetes it hasn’t prevented me from living a full and rewarding life.