At the age of four, Tiffani was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At the age of 27, she completely lost her vision, was diagnosed with stage four renal failure and temporarily lost mobility due to complications of poor management. This is her story.
My diabetes journey began in August 2016. I was 29 years old. Like many who are first diagnosed, I ended up in the hospital with high blood sugar, severe dehydration, fatigue and exhaustion. “If you were my sister,” I recall my doctor saying, “I’d send you to the hospital.” And off to the hospital I went. I remember that day like it was yesterday: the doctors, the nurses, the diabetes educator, the concerned look on my parents’ faces. I didn’t even know what diabetes was at the time, much less how it would change my life forever.
Brent Adame lives in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and is committed to thriving despite living with type 2 diabetes. This is his story:
A couple of weeks before COVID-19 shut the economy down, I noticed my eyesight was getting blurry and my appetite was insatiable!
I continued with my lifestyle, afraid to go to the doctor. I tested my glucose levels at a friend's about a month ago and was 359 and at one point 401. I got nervous and blew it off for a week. Then I got diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and nearly died.
Patricia is a Pilates instructor living with type 1 diabetes. Though she has experienced diabetes-related complications, she has refused to let them keep her down.
For the last 17 years, I have been without one eye. I wear a prosthetic eye hand-painted to "look normal" during the day. Type 1 diabetes has stolen my vision.
Roger lives with type 2 diabetes and resides in New Jersey.
June 11, 2019 is the day that changed my life forever. This is the day that I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. However, as most diabetics, my journey started years earlier. This is my story about my journey to better health.
Natalie has been living with type 1 diabetes since she was six years old and is based in NYC. She loves to travel in order to push herself outside of her comfort zone and has been to all seven continents and 50+ countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic Natalie has been salsa dancing, learning to knit, and writing to connect with others!
Denise never told anyone she dated about her diabetes, until she met the one. Now they both have it, and they’re managing it better than ever as a team. This is her story.