Meeting an 18 year vet of T1D

I'm not sure if it's helpful to El yet or not, but I like to point out other people who are dealing with T1D because I think it helps her realize that she's not alone in battling this. It's funny how it seems like I'm starting to find more and more people that I know who are T1D but I was never aware of it! Tuesday night I had an opportunity to introduce Ellee to a lady who has been battling it for 18 years!

A guy that I grew up with opened a gym right down the road from me, and a few of the girls that I went to school with have been talking about going there for cardio classes. I checked into it and decided to try it, because it would be a good change of pace (and more challenging) than just doing work out videos at home! I was told a few months ago that the instructor was T1D, and I found it encouraging that she's as active as she is! Although, after one step class with her, "active" is not quite the word to describe her, more like "insanely energetic"!

Through out the whole class, I was just amazed at her energy level and kept wondering how much her blood sugar was dropping from this workout! To finish off the class, we got on the mats and did some ab work and push-ups. In the middle of a set of crunches I hear "MOMMY!!". Ellee was ready to jump on me and give me a big hug! Josh had brought the girls in to sign a contract for the fight on December 19. As soon as I finished, I went over to talk to "A" and asked if I understood right that she was Type 1. She didn't know me before the class, but it's like she immediately knew because all I got out was "Can I introduce..." when she smiled and said yes, instantly following me back to the play area where the girls were.

She started shooting the standard questions - When, How Old, Symptoms, Diagnosed Level, Meds, etc. We chatted and exchanged diagnosis stories for about 15 minutes! She was in college and is fairly certain that hers came from a bout with mono in high school.

She told me about her bad experience with the pump, which I was very disappointed to hear, but I knew that we will still be looking into it in a few years. I was very interested to hear that she takes very little fast-acting insulin - she prefers to control hers with exercise! She's proof that staying active helps the body naturally regulate sugar levels! It's very encouraging because I was starting to wonder if it was all a myth! Ellee is still honeymooning (her body is still able to produce a small amount of insulin on its own) her body's reaction to exercise has been mixed - one time it raises her sugar quite a bit and another time it drops it dramatically. I have a feeling that for as active as Ellee is, that she'll be able to use this to her advantage down the road!