“Hi my name is Andrew and I have Type 1 Diabetes. I was blindsided by my diagnosis in August of 2013 as the first in my family’s history to develop T1D and my life has been different ever since. Shortly after I turned 16 I was diagnosed with T1D and had an A1C of 11.7. (Normal A1C’s are between 4-5.6)

Accepting the way I would have to live my life was difficult at first but I soon realized that feeling sorry for myself wasn’t a healthy way to live my life, and truthfully I could have it much worse. After that, optimism and perseverance took over my life. I honed in on my ability to adapt and decided to take advantage of having to be mindful of what I was eating.

I’m now a junior in college and have had an average A1C of about 6 over the last 4 years. College has proven to be a true test to managing T1D with the endless buffet style eating, stress and anxiety from exams, and countless other factors that can affect blood sugars. Staying disciplined is essential to healthy living. I’ve found that a combination of healthy food choices (most of the time), exercising, and a form of stress relief is key to keeping blood sugars in check. I took my diagnosis as an opportunity to be healthy and am thankful that it IS manageable.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to my life with T1D.”

#T1DLooksLikeMe #TypeThankful #WarriorUp #JDRFNEWI