Today I went to a JDRF, Sanofi, Team Type 1 Event. This event featured three women cyclists, Rebecca Schepps, Morgan Patton and Mandy Marquardt. ALL have Type 1 diabetes. Each one had been diagnosed at different times in their lives. It was neat to hear each of their stories, how they have dealt with life as a diabetic and how they deal with diabetes as competitive cyclists. The interesting part was how their blood sugars would run before/during/after their race.
I've seen it in my girls how D can be different. Realizing that is half the battle. In fact I had to tell Evy, if I take a minute to reply to how much insulin you should get for something it's not because I don't know...it's because I have to retrain my brain for a moment. I know, lets say, what ice cream does to Nora's blood sugar but I'm not quite sure what it does to hers yet.
Morgan Patton was one that I found most interesting. She was diagnosed at 7 years old and went through the teen diabetes burnout. She wouldn't test, take insulin or go to Endo appointments. By the time her parents figured all that out her A1C was off the chart! She was put on an insulin pump and still struggled but found a love of cycling and realized that she was starting to feel better from the constant flow of insulin entering her body. She was able to turn her diabetic life around!
I guess she really spoke to me because of the whole burnout thing. I pray we don't go through that with Nora. I'm starting to see a little of it. She doesn't remember to test when she should. She will clear out CGM alerts and not tell me. Or I get a "oh, yeah, Mom, my CGM said ___" hours after its happened! GRRR! But then she gets anal about testing at times. Especially at night or when she is really high and feeling like crud.
It's also interesting that some of the ladies received a "don't let D stop you" diagnosis while others received the "death sentence" diagnosis. But all of them chose to not let having diabetes stop them. That actually exercising makes them feel better. Keeping their blood sugar levels in check, competing better with faster times and reaching their personal best.
I am so glad that I was able to attend. Unfortunately my diabetic daughters couldn't make it. As one was working and the other was at gymnastics practice. I thought about skipping those things and having them go with me but the whole purpose of the event was to inspire others and let people know that you can achieve or do anything even as a Type 1 diabetic. And that's what my girls were doing...not letting diabetes stop them from doing something!
You can read more about Team Type 1 here. If you get a chance to meet these inspiring people I hope you'll take it or at least check out what cities they will be racing in and go cheer them on!
