Page 27 - Panama City Living Magazine

DIABETES AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS ...By Olivia CrosbyPhotography by Michael BooiniWILL NOT SLOW ME DOWN!An estimated 30.3 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. This means 9.4 per- cent of the U.S. population has diabe- tes according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. In Bay County, approximately 15,000 people have diabetes. The num- ber of people with multiple sclerosis in the U.S. is estimated at one million. I am one of the people who have both auto- immune diseases.I was 7 years old when I rst 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 high-ly alarmed. The symptoms depended on the day. Before I was o cially diag- nosed and we knew what was happen- ing, 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 un- quenchable thirst led to frequent uri- nation. (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-oldwho played softball and did gymnastics.I know today all these were indicators my blood sugar was either dropping low or going high. I was o cially 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 dia- betes.www.PanamaCityLiving.com • March - April 2018 • 27