Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis… will not slow me down!
By Olivia Crosby Photography by Michael Booini
An estimated 30.3 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. This means 9.4 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. In Bay County, approximately 15,000 people have diabetes. The number of people with multiple sclerosis in the U.S. is estimated at one million. I am one of the people who have both autoimmune diseases.
I was 7 years old when I first started noticing symptoms. I would randomly feel myself get dizzy and lightheaded like I was going to pass out. My head would constantly hurt and I always had stomach pain. My parents were highly alarmed. The symptoms depended on the day. Before I was officially diagnosed and we knew what was happening, things didn’t make sense. I was 8 years old and losing a lot of weight. I found myself never able to quench my thirst. I was drinking anything I could get my hands on. One time I came home from school and drank an entire gallon of milk within an hour. The unquenchable thirst led to frequent urination. (Imagine that!) Seriously, this made my second-grade year tough in the classroom. There were other times I was very tired and drained. Not what was expected from an active 8-year-old who played softball and did gymnastics.
I know today all these were indicators my blood sugar was either dropping low or going high. I was officially diagnosed with diabetes when I was 8 years old.
“IT WAS NOVEMBER 2000, A MONTH AFTER I TURNED EIGHT. I WAS SICK.”
My grandmother is a nurse and we were at her house. I can remember her talking to my mother about me and how I was feeling. She started talking about diabetes. As a second grader, I had never even heard the word before. My grandmother went to the drug store and purchased Ketone Test Sticks, an at-home testing kit. If ketones are found in the urine, it is a sign that your body is using fat for energy production instead of glucose due to the absence of insulin, the body’s main anabolic hormone that regulates the metabolism. The in-home test showed there were ketones and the possibility of diabetes. I was then examined by a physician who tested my blood sugar. It did not register on the glucose meter because it was “too high to read.” They knew then I was diabetic. The remaining question was, for how long? The Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia was our next stop. The tests there determined my blood sugar level was at 980. The normal blood sugar level for kids is below 100 (milligrams per decilitre). It is a true miracle that I was alive. I spent a week in the hospital where my parents spent countless hours learning about this disease and how to take care of me and be able to teach me how to handle the medications and daily blood tests on my own. I am a type 1 diabetic.
In early 2016 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I was 24 years old. It started with being sick all the time, and I mean ALL the time. I missed so much work I was afraid I was going to be fired! It was embarrassing. I was sure they thought I was overdramatic and not sick. The doctors ran test after test and couldn’t figure out what was going on but we knew my immune system was compromised more than normal considering diabetes. If someone asks if I lead a “normal” life I have to reply, “What’s normal?” In all seriousness, I was diagnosed when I was so young I didn’t know any different. So, yes, I feel that my life is “normal” most of the time…except, when I am in meetings and my insulin pump starts to beep and vibrate. That can be a great conversation starter. A day can absolutely be difficult though, don’t get me wrong. My blood sugars are easily affected by regular activities or occurrences working out, less sleep, sickness, stress. I might get tired faster. I pride myself in not letting it slow me down and I use it as an encouragement to others when I can.
WHAT’S NORMAL?
With MS, my life feels “normal” most of the time, until a flare-up happens. Everything you can think of could or can affect my MS, too. Nobody knows what causes MS, unfortunately, or how to cure it. I have read a few books and learned how to lessen symptoms. It’s important to eat healthily and give your body the proper nutrients it needs. Stress can also trigger a flare-up. Crazy, but cold weather can cause a flare up, too! Thank God for Florida weather! So, for the most part, I feel “normal” and, until now, only people close to me knew I am living with MS. Sometimes, when the weather changes, or my body hasn’t had the right amount of something, I will have a flare up and that can be annoying… mainly because, I love my heels!
MISCONCEPTIONS
The most common misconception I hear is, “Oh you must have eaten a lot of sweets.” No, I didn’t and I don’t. I always take this as the perfect time to explain the differences in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. For the MS, it’s so new to me, not a ton of people know and talk about it.
Most often I hear, “Bless your heart!” But living in the South, it makes me smile. People are surprised when they find out that I have been dealing with this my entire life. I like to take that as a compliment because I am “keeping on keeping on” like a healthy person would do.
STRENGTH
Without a doubt, my faith is what keeps me strong and keeps me going. I am who I am because of the Big Man upstairs. What would I tell others about my experiences? You get through it. Sometimes it is difficult and frustrating and hard. Waking up in the middle of the night to check my blood sugars all through the night wasn’t what I wanted to do. I know my parents had to suffer with me when I was a little girl. Then there are times I really want to run a mile or wear the adorable new high heels I just bought, but I just can’t because of the MS. There are things in life you just have to deal with. You have two choices, you can do it and make the best of it, or you can do it and let it make you a miserable person. I am making the best of it. My preacher once told us that our bad times can be somebody else’s blessings. I have never ever forgotten that. Everyone goes through issues in their life but life is what you make of it. I learned to trust God and have Faith. I could have easily decided not to do certain things because it was easier and maybe not a challenge to take the easy way out. But I choose not to. I want to take the challenge. Now I have a story. I am proud of what I have done and accomplished. I am excited to see what my future holds because I know my book is still being written. You can let things slow you down in life, or you can grab them and move them forward with you. I am making my way in life with two autoimmune diseases. I have not been slowed down one bit. I love when I find out people have no idea about my illnesses. That makes me happy. It’s a reminder that I am out here being “normal”–whatever normal is.