Meet Ulyssia

I was 15 when I was diagnosed just 2 months after getting Covid 19. My biological mom has T1D so I knew what symptoms and signs to look for. My symptoms started out with cramping in my legs and constant thirst. This was during Covid so the water fountains weren’t open at school and we had to buy bottles of water - therefore, every single period, I would go into the bathroom and drink water out of the faucet because I was so thirsty. It would get to the point where I would burst into tears if I couldn’t get any water. 

After a little while, I started getting bad headaches and using the bathroom continuously. Eventually, all of my symptoms were showing - weight loss, exhaustion, stomach pains, sickness, and hunger.

I asked my dad to get me tested but he didn’t think anything of it so he never made the appointment. After many times of me asking to get my blood tested, he finally caved. The morning after my bloodwork, my dad got a phone call saying that he needed to rush me to the hospital immediately because my blood sugar was at 770. That was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. It was also the day that my life changed forever.

Since being diagnosed, I have gone through very many rough patches. Sometimes I feel like I need to take care of myself perfectly so that I can have good health, other times I feel like I don’t care what happens to me and I just want to give up. 

Diabetes isn’t just a physical health issue. When I was first diagnosed, I went into a horrible stage of depression and rarely checked my blood sugar or took insulin, even when I ate. I ate carbs constantly. With such high blood sugars, carbs were all I wanted. 

Now that I’m 18 years old, I still struggle to take care of myself. I am much happier and take better care of my diabetes, but it really is a struggle at times.