No more sweets!

Wow it's been ages since my last blog post. I am so very sorry for not posting anything sooner. I get all wrapped up in work that I tend to neglect this little blog of mine. Anywho, today I am writing because I was inspired by an amazing person who also happens to be one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Elle from Living In Color Style. She wrote a very inspiring blog entry about something personal in her life. You should definitely check out her blog! Not only does she have an awesome fashion sense, she's also very sweet and a fellow teacher! With that being said, here is my #realbloggerbeauty story:

As many of you know, I have Juvenile Diabetes. I was diagnosed the summer I turned 15 years old. I had no idea what diabetes was except that it was something elderly people got, including both my grandmothers. It all happened at once. The weeks leading up to it are ones I will never forget.  I had gone to an NSYNC meet and greet at the then grand opening of the Virgin Mega Store here in Union Sq, NYC. I remember the day clearly because I was so thirsty. I had bought a Hawaiian punch drink (Which used to be my fav at the time) and I was still thirsty. I should've drank water but I was craving something sweet. So I asked my cousin if I could have some of her drink but I ended up drinking all of it. Later that day, I started to feel a little sick. My stomach hurt but I thought it was because of all the junk food I had during the day. The following day I felt fine. The day after that I felt sick again but I was still craving sweets. I ate so much that week. By the following Friday I felt so sick and weak. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed I had lost some weight...actually a lot of weight. And then thats when I started to throw up.

My mom was concerned. She thought maybe I had a bad bug but being the over protective parent that she was (and still is) she took me to see my pediatrician. My doctor said I had a virus. And that I should drink lots of liquids so I can stay hydrated. That night my mom gave me lots of fluids and made me drink soup. I still felt very sick and weak. The next thing I remember is my dad coming into my room asking me if I could get up. I must have said no because I felt my dad pick me up and put me over his shoulder. It was all a blur after that.

I fell into a diabetic coma for more than 32 hours, with a blood sugar level of 1800. (The normal blood sugar level is 90-120). When I woke up, I was in the Children's Hospital intensive care unit. My aunt was sitting beside my bed. I looked at her and said "Hi Tia" and she started crying. Soon everything started moving really fast. Doctors kept coming in checking on me. One of them said "You are lucky to be alive". I was so confused and a little scared. My mom came in with a doctor I had never seen and the two of them said "You have diabetes". All I kept thinking was, "I have what Mamá had". But then I thought, "I am so young...I don't understand".

It turns out, the day my dad had asked me if I could get up from my bed, my parents rushed me to the hospital. The second they reached the ER and the staff looked at me, they quickly took my vitals. I had no pulse. The ER doctors rushed me into a room and checked me from head to toe. One doctor asked my mom "Is there a family history of diabetes?" My mom said yes my paternal grandmother has it. "Your daughter has diabetes and she developed ketoacidosis". (This is the first sign of undetected diabetes). My mom said she went into panic mode. She told the doctors she had taken me to my pediatrician the day before and she said I had a virus.  The doctors said I was misdiagnosed.

I spent 18 days in the ICU. During this time, I learned how to inject insulin into my body practicing on a baby doll. The first day I tried it on myself I cried. It actually hit me for the first time that this was something I was going to live with for the rest of my life. As the weeks went by, I got used to this lifestyle change. My mom changed my diet and helped me with counting carbs.

As time went on, I started to feel alone. None of my friends had it. During lunch time at school, I had to go up to the nurse's office and check my blood sugar and then put insulin. By the time I went back into the cafeteria my friends had already finished their lunch. This was so frustrating. I didn't want people to watch me check my sugar. Soon my blood sugars started to sky rocket. It wasn't till I was recommended to work at a Diabetes Summer Day Camp that I started to feel better. I met so many children, many younger than me who had diabetes. For the first time I felt someone finally understood what I was going through.

I am now 30. I have been living with diabetes for half my life. I am not going to lie some days are better than others. I usually have pretty good blood sugars. But it all depends on how I am feeling. Stress isn't my friend. My feet swell really bad during the summer. I still hate changing my insulin pump site. I still crave sweets. But I try to moderate the amount I eat. I still cringe at the sign of needle or when I see blood. And I am still scared of getting lows during the night. But thankfully I have an amazing group of supporters such as my family and friends who make it a lot better. I am not the perfect diabetic. And I don't strive to be. But I do try my best to take care of myself and also help others not to feel alone in this. We just have to take it one day at a time. 

If you would like to share your #realbloggerbeauty story please follow these steps. This will explain in detail what it is all about. I can't wait to read what you all write! Thanks for reading! Happy Monday!