My name's Daisy, I'm 22 years old and living in Manchester, England. I am a second-year Philosophy (BA Hons) student at the University of Manchester. I enjoy dancing, the outdoors, figure skating, being creative, writing until my hand feels as though it's about to drop off and listening to so much music that I've turned into a walking, talking juke-box. I play the ukulele and am learning the guitar. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...I'm a type 1 diabetic.
I was diagnosed in November 1996, one month before my 4th birthday. I can't remember 'diabetes' being on my list of birthday presents, but you get what you're given I suppose. I'd been ill for quite a while, seemingly following an ear-infection, and had been drinking loads and losing a ridiculous amount of weight. After a GP was very little help in finding out what was wrong with me, my mum realised that I must be diabetic when she recognised symptoms that were the same as those 2 of my type 1 diabetic uncles had suffered. My parents took me straight to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. All I remember about that day was being told by a nurse to look up at a ceiling, with pretty lights and paintings of cartoon animals on it, while she attempted to insert a cannula into the arm of a screaming child...me. I have a vague recollection of my first injection and my grandparents coming to visit me on the ward, but I think I've repressed everything else.
In the 18 years I've been living with diabetes, I've been admitted to hospital with DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) and have become unconscious due to a severe hypoglycemic attack once. It's probably safe to say that my experience of diabetes has, at times, been a bit of a battle. In fact occasionally it has been more like a full-blown, raging war between my own strong-will (or stubbornness) and my equally strong-willed (stubborn) inactive pancreas. The combination of these two, of course, makes for a very unhappy blood-testing monitor.
Nowadays I am much better at controlling my blood sugars and generally taking more responsibility for my health. Completing the DAFNE course was a real turning point for me. It made me realise that taking care of my diabetes really isn't all that difficult if I do it properly - it's the cutting of corners that makes things tricky. Even now I find myself struggling with the day-to-day decisions and dilemmas that diabetes serves to me on a weighed-out, carb-counted, reduced-sugar plate, but I deal with them better and more rationally.
In my blog I hope to give an honest account of what living with type 1 diabetes is like. You'll find much rejoicing, ranting and rambling about the 'D', but I try to maintain a positive tone. Anyway, I like to believe that we were made to have diabetes because we were born sweet enough! ;)
Happy blood-testing!
