Living with diabetes, one teen's story
November is American Diabetes Month, and at this point Brittany Reid has lived more of her life with diabetes in tow than without.
"I was in second grade and I was 7 years old," said Brittany, who is in on pace to be the salutatorian of Gowanda High School's class of 2011. "It was December 2001."
At the ripe age of 7, Brittany's body began giving her and her family warning signals that something bigger than dehydration could be the problem.
"I was thirsty all the time and would sneak water at nighttime," she said. "I lost a lot of weight and I was just really tired out."
A trip to the doctor revealed the source of Brittany's abnormal symptoms. The diagnosis she and her family received was that she had Type 1 (also known as juvenile) diabetes. Her pancreas had stopped creating the insulin necessary for her body to maintain her blood sugar. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.
Family history proved to play a role in Brittany's case. Type 2 diabetes appears on her dad's side of the family, and because it has been found that diabetes often skips a generation, she developed the disease. Suddenly, 7-year-old Brittany was confronted with a chronic disease that she was clueless about.
"I was scared going into the hospital because I wasn't normally in the hospital ever. The first question I asked my mom when she told me was if I would still be able to eat ice cream," Brittany said with a laugh. "My mom was so shook up about it that I was just like, 'Oh, Mom, it will be OK'; I was comforting her."
Slowly but surely Brittany and her family adjusted to the change. Brittany testing her blood sugar before meals became the norm around the Reid family.
"They made sure that if I had to eat a certain number of carbs they would do the same thing so I wouldn't feel so alone," she said. "My Grandma Bea did everything she could to make me feel like nothing was different Ñ she offered to take shots when I had to take shots."
An organization known as Brittany's Bikers was started by her parents through Harley Davidson in Jamestown. With Brittany as inspiration, dice runs were held to raise awareness about diabetes and money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Other foundations have also benefited as Brittany's Bikers moved on to diseases other than diabetes.
"We realized there are a lot of other diseases out there," Brittany said.
About her diabetes, Brittany said, "It became my life, growing up. It was a part of me."
And quite literally, too. A year after her diagnosis, Brittany and her family fought for her to be switched to an insulin pump. This device is worn outside of the body with a tube inserted into the bloodstream that continuously administers insulin throughout the day or with a touch of a button on the device. Every two days, the site of insertion is changed. Brittany received the pump despite what the doctors had to say about it being too soon for her to have it, and found it to be a winner for years. She switched back to manually inserting insulin in August 2008, but for years, the pump served as her main insulin provider.
Middle school rolled around, and when fifth grade started, Brittany began testing her blood sugar before lunch in front of her classmates instead of in the nurse's office as she had done in elementary school.
"I think it affected other people more than I noticed it," Brittany said. "Students would ask me questions and I would tell them about my diabetes. It was kind of hard because some students thought diabetes was contagious and they could catch it from me."
Children tend to be ready to shun anything or anyone different, but because Brittany's diabetes has never been a touchy subject with her, her willingness to answer any questions her classmates asked made it easier for them to accept her. Soon, to her classmates, it was like there was nothing different at all. And, it really wasn't.
"It's made me who I am," said Brittany, though she admitted to one drawback: "The biggest struggle of having diabetes is trying to explain to people that diabetics can eat sugar. With today's technology and advanced diabetic monitoring tools, I can eat pretty much anything I want."
Most diabetics go on to lead normal lives, but there are many scary sides to this disease. The risk of having blood sugar that is too low is always great. Normal blood sugar levels can fall anywhere between 70 and 150 mg. When diabetics fall below 70 or above 150, problems are presented.
"My blood sugar's gone into the 20s before," Brittany said. "My mom and I were walking into the mall and I was hanging all over her acting like I was drunk. They brought me regular soda so it would bring my blood sugar up, but I refused to drink it and I was getting angry. I wasn't aware of what I was doing; my body was doing that."
And, "In the morning, if my blood sugar's low, I won't wake up," she said. "I'm worried about going to college and not waking up."
Even with the rough patches Brittany has faced along her way, she stays optimistic.
"There are a lot worse diseases out there," she said.
Now, at 16, nearly 10 years since her diagnosis, Brittany has a bright future ahead of her. Her positive attitude has helped her overcome this obstacle. Brittany has never been recognized solely for being a diabetic. Far more often, she is noticed for excelling in academics, being involved in activities with her church and even her vehicle of choice: a pink moped.
Brittany has big plans for her life and won't let her diabetes get in the way. She plans on going to college and pursuing a career as a doctor. Her biggest fear is the scary thought of not waking up once she's on her own in college thanks to a low blood sugar in the morning. But, with her supportive family always standing by her, Brittany knows that this fear is silly.
"I'm sure my mom will still call me at 7:30 and say: 'Brittany? Did you test? Are you awake?'"
Emily Steves is a junior at Gowanda High School.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments