Morgan Brittain's Story

I remember the day like it was yesterday, the day that my life changed forever. This is the story about how I got Type 1 Diabetes, and how I manage to live my life with this disease.

First of all, Type 1 Diabetes is a disease that makes an organ called your pancreas completely shut down and stop working. Your pancreas' job is to give you insulin, to control the carbohydrates and sugars you eat, and to keep your blood sugar levels stable. My pancreas doesn't produce insulin, and if I don't manually give myself insulin injections every time I put food or liquid in my mouth, I will die, and quickly.

December 2004, my family started noticing some dramatic changes with my body, such as rashes, weight loss, and new habits that I have never been doing before, like drinking all the time, and going to the bathroom every 15-30 minutes. We weren't quite sure what all this meant, so we went to the doctors about mid-December. They told us that it was nothing to be worried about, and that I was just growing, and going through changes. My mom was happy to hear that nothing was wrong with me, yet. About a week before Christmas, I got really sick, with vomiting and the flu, and I missed about three days of school.

When winter break started, my family took a trip to the Dells for a couple days, and what they saw when I put a swimming suit on shocked us all. My backbone, back ribs and front ribs were popping out like crazy, I was so skinny, and it was scary. I remember hearing my sister say, "She looks Anorexic." I didn't really know what was going on, I was so young, and when your only 10 years old, you don't think about all the bad stuff these changes could be.

We got through vacation, and I remember it was Christmas Eve, and I was sitting at my grandma's house. Now her house has never been the coolest place, it's always so hot in there, but that day, it was different, because I was so cold, shivering, and my Grandma being a retired RN, said that we should make another doctor's appointment for the following Monday. Christmas Eve was on a Friday night that year, so we had to wait a couple days.

Christmas Day, I woke up like any 10 year old would, and opened my presents at my mom's house, and then at noon was off to my dad's for Christmas at his house. My dad had a friend that worked for Health Care, and she was worried about me as well. She had a test, where I had to pee in this cup, and she took it to the office to test it, and the results were not good. I didn't exactly know what was going on. That night for supper, we went to the Chinese Restaurant, and I drank 3 huge glasses of regular soda, and for any of you that knows what diabetes is, that's not a good sign. When I got up to get some ice-cream, the room got all fuzzy, and I said to my Dad, "Why am I dreaming?"

It was after that, that my Dad's friend called my Mom, and told her what had happened with the test, and then at the restaurant. My Mom called the doctor and then the next thing I knew my Mom was picking me up. She told me that the doctor wanted to see me, and that I should bring my "blanket". (The one I always slept with). I was very confused, and got a little scared, considering it was 9:00 PM on Christmas Day and the doctor wanted to see me so late. We pulled up at the ER entrance, and I don't remember a lot that was happening. The waiting room was full of people, but we didn't have to wait, they took me right in. I remember a lot of needles pokes, and blood draws. I was terrified of needles, I hated them, I remember a lot of tears, and it's all a blur. I remember the doctor telling my Mom that I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes, and I remember saying, "Doctor, I don't want to die." I had a blood glucose level of 986, and the doctors said, "She shouldn't even be walking right now." When
I think of that night, I think of all the tears that were shed that day, and each day that I live with diabetes, that painful night gets blurrier and blurrier, although I know that I will never forget what happened. I realized, that after all the cool things I have been able to participate in, the happier that night starts to look. That may sound crazy, but it's true.

That night is still in the back of my mind, tears come to my eyes just thinking about it. Now, 4-1/2 years later, I'm still going strong. I have a Mini-Med insulin pump, and I really like it. I have gone to many camps, made a lot of friends with Diabetes, and helped others out, helped them realize that Diabetes doesn't mean it's the end of your life. I have been honored to do many things, such as talk to random teenagers that come to my school, and not even being asked to do so until two hours before they arrive! At the middle school last year, we had a Lunch and Learn meeting once a month, with a boy named Lance from a different school, and my friend Hailey, and we all sat down with a diabetes education nurse, Mrs. Scullin ate lunch, and had mini lessons on Diabetes. They were fun and helpful. This program was funded by Tomorrow's Hope.

Diabetes isn't always easy, especially being an athlete. I have to check my blood sugar on a daily basis, about 6 times a day, and having an insulin pump, I have to change my site about every 3 days, doing so by a needle and tube. On days that I have sports, I have to be sure I have some snacks and that I check more than I usually do.

This summer, I was asked to be involved in something, that I was a huge honor to me. It's a fundraising event called Tomorrows Hope, that raises money for many different diseases and the money stays in the local communities. I was asked to come and do activities and meet new people also affected by other diseases. I was invited to ride on a Harley motorcycle, and carry the torch of fire, and pass it off to another child who had a different illness. It was really fun, and I met some new people, and got to do a lot of cool things like being interviewed on the radio, having lots of pictures taken of me, and hang out with my other diabetic friends. The school nurse, Mrs. Jenson brought three other girls who are also diabetic, to see me and we had a blast dressing up in sumo wrestling suits and knocked each other over. I am very grateful to Tomorrow's Hope for this amazing experience.

Diabetes has really changed my life, but I'm still a normal teenager, living my life like all the others. Sure there's some extra stuff that I have to do to stay alive besides eat, drink and sleep, but that's what makes life a little more interesting.