Every story matters. From the moment of diagnosis to the time you conquered the overnight basal rate to the moment when you realized that the CWD community has your back, every story in your diabetes life matters.
Do you have a story to share about your experiences with diabetes? We want to hear from you! Tell us your story using the form below and we'll consider it for inclusion in the CWD Stories section of our website.
Diagnosed as a Child
Kris Kasabian
T1D is the most crazy invisible illness. It’s absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I struggle with mental health and addiction but I never give up. I try my best every day because I’m so afraid of more suffering (complications). Was recently diagnosed with cataracts and bleeding in my eyes and that’s been hard […]
Andrew Nielson
Two months before I turned 12 I started experiencing relentless thirst and fatigue. My parents, both nurses, knew something was wrong when I lost so much weight that even a belt couldn’t keep my pants up. I’d been trying to hide my symptoms—I hated hospitals—but eventually, they took me to our family pediatrician. A quick […]
Kara McGriff
After living with diabetes for 10 years, this is the first year I have ever been hospitalized for it. It made me think how precious life is. It made me realize that I should be the best I can be for my husband and children. Diabetes has taught me strength, perseverance, and also patience. It’s […]
Jessica Vandas
I was diagnosed the same week as my 13 birthday. I had many symptoms including weight loss, fatigue, emotions and thirst that my family attributed to puberty. Just before May of 2005 I developed a severe limp and went in for nerve testing. Find there were more questions than answers after my appointment, I was […]
Makenzie Moore
Hi, I’m Makenzie & this year I’m celebrating 10 years… A whole DECADE of living with type 1 diabetes. I was diagnosed at 15. Now at 25, I reflect on everything I’ve walked through, I’m overwhelmed by how much has changed & how much I’ve grown. I had no idea that just months after my […]
Jewels Doskicz
Just after midnight on January 1st, 1984, I crawled to my parents’ bedroom, collapsing in abdominal pain. My dad carried my 85-pound, depleted body to the car and sped to the ER, where my mom worked as a nurse. That was 40 years ago. I don’t recall much from the ER — other than my […]
Heather Kunberger
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of three. I don’t remember life before diabetes. Life with diabetes hasn’t been easy and we always haven’t gotten along. I’ve persevered and pushed through. Technology for diabetes has greatly improved since my diagnosis. When I was first diagnosed you couldn’t check your blood sugar […]
Samantha
From her father, Jason: At diagnosis, Sam told her mom “you take care of the worrying, I’ll take care of me.” This from a seven year old, set the tone for the first 10 years of Sam’s journey. Since then, Sam has excelled at everything she has put her mind to. In academics, she has […]
Emma
From her mother, Crystal: My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 23 months old on March 28, 2015. The past 10 years have been exhausting with managing diabetes, but she hasn’t let it stop her from doing the things she loves! She definitely does not let the disease define who she […]
Susan Evans
I thank goodness every day that I was diagnosed at 10 year old. My life was easier to establish due to being young. I still don’t try candy and snacks that I’ve never had because I might like them and will want them again. This doesn’t happen often. (LOL) Modern technology has been a huge […]