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Accepting the Journey

Diagnostic

On January 31st, 2014,  I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. That day changed my way of seeing life, I was only 13 years old at that time and had no idea of the changes that would come with my diagnosis.

Weeks before the news, I went from being someone full of colour to living in black and white. As a young man I could be so angry all the time for no reason, my clothes were getting loose, my enthusiasm was diminishing, and my mouth was dry all the time. I needed to drink something every five minutes and I lived in the bath all the time practically.In light of these changes, I decided to go to the hospital. The doctors noticed my symptoms and my blood sugar was around 650. They told me that I was about to enter a diabetic coma, after almost a whole day without being able to eat while waiting for the news. Diabetes would now be my companion for life, something I had never heard about before. After a whole week in the hospital, I spent my time between my recovery and classes, trying to handle it in the best possible way. I was able to go back to the world; to a world that was now totally different from what it was just a few days ago. Everything looked different to me even though it was still the same.

Living with it 

The first few weeks were simple thanks to the support of my family, the whole medical team that helped me, and the courage I had to face everything. Everyday I spent was more and more complicated with having to deal with food, injections, and finger pricks.  I was asking myself “Why Me?” I was just a common, ordinary child, who had been healthy and practicing sports. That thought took over me more and more, as my friends around me were leading such comfortable lives. Over time I began to see the positive side of everything, changed my way of thinking, and began seeing it as a disease. For me, it’s a way of living, of understanding that it’s perhaps a stab in your back but still part of you. You have to learn to control it to live with it. There may be a high and low but it depends on you if you want to maintain the good levels, you need to accept what you have and be stronger. The disease will never be stronger than you if you manage it well. 

To find more people who have the same thing as me, and realize that I am not alone on this long road, made me believe and understand that everything is a matter of perspective. There are thousands and thousands of people who everyday ask themselves the same questions and go through the same situations as myself. 

Living with T1D has not been easy but over time I have managed to change my way of thinking and living, taking care of myself and my diet, managing my sugar levels, and staying active. It was with the help and support from both my doctors and my family that I was able to do this, as they were always great support for me.

I recently promised myself not to let this stop me from having the life I want, traveling, learning, and experiencing new things. Everyday is a challenge that you have to learn to overcome. Never let anything or anyone stop you from your goal, your vision, and living the life you want. `

Carlos David García
I’m Carlos and I’ve been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost 7 years, I’m 19 and diabetes doesn’t define me. IG: carlosdgar18

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