My name is Joleigh, and I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on September 14, 2015. Being diagnosed with this disease was without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever gone through. I never knew I was capable of handling something as serious as type 1 diabetes, but I have learned just how strong I can be.

When I was in the hospital, my doctors told me my life would never be the same. They told me that I was going to have to get over my fear of needles and take multiple shots a day. The doctors also told me if I would have been minutes, even seconds later to the hospital I would have been in a coma.

One of the hardest parts about being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes was I had to let go of a life that I knew for 17 years and say hello to a new one that I never asked for, and it was definitely one I did not I want. Diabetes has a mind of its own and it is so unpredictable no matter how hard I try. I am constantly fighting myself, whether to eat and take a shot, or not eat and not have to worry about how my body is going to react. Being stressed out as a diabetic has brought a whole new level to stress because my blood sugar reacts in such a negative way. When I wake up in the middle of the night from low blood sugar, I can’t fall back asleep due to the fear of never waking back up.

Although my family may say I have owned this disease from the beginning, it took me a long time to be comfortable in my own body again. I was embarrassed and scared that someone was going to ask me about my pump or CGM if they were noticeable in public – I thought it was embarrassing to need something to live that most other people didn’t have to have. I felt like I had to wear a mask and pretend that I was okay when on the inside. I felt so alone and scared for a long time.