I'm me. Hannah, fourteen, loves make up, shopping, outdoor sports, music and yes. I'm a diabetic and have been for eight years. I don't really think of it as a disease as people say it is, and it really annoys me when my science and food technology teachers talk about it as a bad thing, it's just a little blip in my life. When I tell people I am a diabetic they do different reactions they can be sympathetic but that annoys me, or ask really stupid questions like "How come you're not fat then?" At the end of the day I don't really care what they think. So here's my (quite long) story so far.

Where shall I start? Well I suppose the beginning would be handy. It was year two during the cold months of October and November, and I just couldn't stop needing the loo, it was constant maybe every hour sometimes less, it was ridiculous! I was also thirsty all the time I had a constant dry mouth. And I needn't tell you how tired I was because am guessing you've all been there and got the t-shirt!

But anyway. back to my life with diabetes not before I was diagnosed with it. Ok, so the day I found out I had diabetes was any other day to me as I didn't know what was happening at the time, the only difference was that my mum was picking me up at 10 o'clock to go to the doctors. I thought it was because I had a cold or something, so I gave my beanie baby to my friend asking her to look after it for me until I got back, not knowing it would be another four days until I saw him again. I'm guessing I had already been to the doctors before or something because I think it was just for my results of the test but am not too sure. Anyway am babbling now. At the time I must have got distracted with a toy or something, as I don't remember the doctor delivering the bad news (but I don't really think of it as bad to be honest). Nevertheless, I will never get over my mum's reaction when she left the doctors. She simply broke down into tears after putting me in the car to go to the hospital (along the way we took a detour to my dad's office) an elderly lady asked her if she was ok, I didn't understand it at all.

If I'm going to be honest I don't really remember the whole hospital stay, which in my eyes must be a good thing. I do remember having this weird thing on my arm that made me look like I'd broken it, which I wasn't too pleased about. And I was woken during the night which obviously I wasn't too pleased about either! My mum stayed with me during my time in hospital and I reckon she must have been told what to do with my insulin and BMs and also how much I can eat, because for ages she used to weigh my food, I can remember I was only allowed six chips!! I was gutted. At first I didn't inject myself as I was only six so it wasn't really that practical but I did practise on my clown toy and I think maybe a bit less than a year I was doing my bms and insulin myself.

During the last eight years I have had a few scares with diabetes but who doesn't, because we all have to get used to it and accept it. I've been in hospital a few times; a few months after I was diagnosed and I think in year 6 because I was given the wrong insulin by the chemist. I have also had the paramedics call round a few times because I have had such a bad hypo I have either been unconscious or just unable to come back round. So I suppose your wondering what it's like to be different from my friends. Well, honestly it's got good points and bad, like most things really. I like how I'm unique and no-one else has what I have because who want to be a sheep? Not me! However, I don't like it when I've just had a hypo and the whole school knows about it and people do impressions. It's embarrassing and lonely at times I have to say. I also hate it when I have arguments with my mum and she blames it on the diabetes its NOT! It's simply because I'm in a mood with either her or everyone.

Now then... the hospital visits. I don't mind them yet I don't like them, maybe that's because everyone's telling me what to do, like to change to four injections a day, even though I'm already on three. Yet, they don't know what it's like because they don't have diabetes and never experienced it, and I don't want to do my insulin in front of friends making me even more different than I already am. All I want is a doctor who understands what I'm going through in secondary dealing with diabetes and has experienced it themselves not someone, who knows all of the facts from books. Books are useless as they don't tell you what that person is feeling

I'm not perfect when it comes to diabetes but it hasn't run my life and it's NOT going to!