Hi, I'm Frances and I have diabetes. This affects me and my family in more than ways than one. Well to start with I'm so much different from my sister and friends because none of my friends have to have injections or do their blood sugar like I have to. I know it doesn't sound that hard but when it really happens to you it is. Another thing that is different about me is I'm not allowed too much sugar e.g. I cannot have Sprite or Fanta etc. I have to have water or anything that is diet, but that is only if my blood sugar is high. However if my blood sugar is low it's the complete opposite: I need sugar fast and quick. Lots of people in my class say they want diabetes but they don't really, if they like needles and blood then maybe. I also think they say things like that because they know I have biscuits in class if I feel low, but believe me life is much more easier without diabetes. Not too long ago I fell over (not tripping up) because my blood sugar was too low. I can not remember getting up in the morning, but my Mum says my face was blank and I looked from left to right and then .

I only remember waking up on my living room sofa with my Mum, Dad and sister and a few other men (doctors) looking at me.

After that I had to stay at home for the day. After I had woken up a bit I sat up and drank some Lucozade and had an ice-lolly and watched a film with my Dad.

How this affected my Mum, Dad and sister are still a mystery to me, but there's one thing I'm sure about: My sister was very upset when I woke up so this upset me as well. I didn't quite know what was happening then. Anyway we'll change the subject. Sometimes when my friends have sweets I feel really left out because my blood sugars might be too high. There's a good and a bad half to having diabetes: you can sometimes have extra sweets, but sometimes you can't have any at all! Before I had diabetes I didn't even know what diabetes was. So I had to learn everything pretty quick. At the beginning my Mum or Dad did my injections with a syringe. But within just two weeks I started to do my own injections with the pen. When I was in hospital the doctors put a canula in each hand to feed water through my body because I was dehydrated.

Due to my diabetes I have to go for a check up every 3 months and I get weighed, measured and I get my feet checked. As well as all this Eileen also asks me if I have any questions I want to ask. Every year the people in charge of the ward invite young diabetic children to go on a trip without our parents or sisters or brothers: It is a trip. An adventure trip. When I went we went to Grange Over Sands and I had a great time. Speaking of which I've recently went to Robinwood with school, I had a great time but what spoilt it for me was I had to go out of the group to do my injections in privacy. But apart from that I had a cool three days. Now back to my general problems. It is often hard to explain my medical condition to small children because they don't understand. Some people in my class still don't know what diabetes is even though I've had it for over a year. It is hard to explain sometimes. When I do my injections I get very bruised so I have to change every week to either my tummy, bottom, arm or leg. My injections hurt sometimes.

When I'm older I need to wear a necklace or bracelet that has my name on and my condition engraved on the back of a dog tag, but on the front of it is symbol meaning 'international medical alert'.

Now changing the subject to Christmas and Easter. At times such as Christmas I can't have as much chocolate or sweets but I can have some just not as much as I used to have. It doesn't bother me anymore. But at Easter it's a different story. Chocolate , chocolate and more chocolate So basically what I'm trying to say is that diabetes doesn't change me unless I want it to