Life as a Diabetic.

Hello, my name is Jessica, I am 11 years old and I have had diabetes for two years now. I was diagnosed Easter 2006 when I was in Primary Five. I am from Northern Ireland and I was diagnosed in the Ulster Hospital in Belfast. In the days coming up to my diagnoses my mum noticed that I was going to the toilet more than usual, always very thirsty and I was extremely cranky. She knew these might be symptoms of diabetes because her brother, my uncle, is diabetic so she had grown up looking out for him. She asked him to bring his Blood Glucose Monitoring Kit and tested my blood glucose level. It was 18 so she phoned our GP at once and he sent me straight up to hospital where I was diagnosed by my consultant. He got some blood samples from me and sent me home for the night to have my breakfast as normal the next day and go back to hospital. On the way home with my mum the question I can most clearly remember is asking my mum, " Can I have Easter Eggs?" as it was Easter the next week. In the end the answer was actually yes as my diabetic team told me. I am now doing very well and although my blood glucose levels are still not completely controlled and having diabetes can sometimes be very annoying, such as when my blood sugar is higher than normal not being able to have as much food as I would like. However I have been very lucky to not have had any big problems. I have two younger sisters who are now able to remind me when to do my blood sugars and injections I find them very useful. I'm not saying I enjoy having diabetes but I can't imagine life without it now and it is certainly not the worst condition in the world.