How Technology Became My Life

When I was 7 years old in first grade, I loved playing football with my freinds, driving my parents crazy and having very few worries about my world. Then I was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. In that March of 1996, technology did not just become part of my life, as it did for all of my classmates in computer class. Modern technology became my source of life. Being diagnosed with a terminal disease to which no cure has yet been found, the use of the most modern technology in the world is the only way I can survive.

I had no choice in the matter, I did nothing to contract the disease, and yet there I was in the hospital being taught how to manually assist my survival, and that failure to do so would result in my death.

Diabetes is a genetic disease that does not discriminate between gender, age or lifestyle. When the certain mutated gene triggered in my body one day, my immune system turned on itself and attacked my pancreas, the insulin producing organ in our bodies. Without the work of my pancreas, my body could not regulate my blood sugar on its own.

For weeks my parents thought I was just really sick. I felt weak, hungry and thirsty all the time, and tired. In two to three months, I lost 60% of my body weight and my daily habits changed completely, such as no longer wanting to go outside to play football.
The scariest part is, there was no way for my parents to have any idea what was really happening to me. Eventually my parents took me in to see our doctor, and after one simple look at me, he told my parents to take me to the hospital immediately. Upon arriving at the hospital, my blood sugar was 784. At 900, I would go into a coma. The target for a regular human being is 80-130.

After three and a half days in the hospital, I had gone from a normal young boy to one who had in his possession some of the most advanced health care technology in the world at my fingertips, literally and figuratively.

Without the technological advances that are available today, life would not have been an option for me, as was the case with so many innocent victims in the past. To survive I must regulate the insulin in my body on a day to day, hour to hour basis.

I have an electronic meter used to take blood sugar measurements that I do around 6 times a day. I do blood glucose tests before every meal I eat, and at other times during such as before atheletic workouts. Keeping my blood sugar in range not ony keep me healthy right now, but helps to ensure that I do not have other health problems that are common in diabetics. These problems include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and circulatory problems, that then lead to amputations.

My Insulin pen injects the artificial insulin into my body, which I do any time I eat anything or if my blood sugar number is too high. I must do a shot after I eat anything, be it a thanksgiving meal or a bottle of juice. And for a guy like me who eats a lot, that means a lot of shots every day.

I use regular syringes to inject long acting insulin one time a day, usually between 9 and 10pm. This helps regulate my blood sugar overnight and thorughout the entire day.

I use a Microsoft excel page to record and track my blood sugar numbers, what I ate and when I ate it, and how much insulin I did for each meal and number.

Anywhere I got, be it football practice, class, parties, out shopping or just over to a friends room, I must bring my supplies with me incase my blood sugar goes low or high, I can correct it right away.

I must always have quick acting carbs in my room with me if I go low and can not make it to the dinning hall.

My insulin supplies also take a prominent space in my other fridge. The insulin I use to regulate my blood sugar levels is an amazing technology in itself. Scientists are able to synthetically create insulin for human use. In earlier treatments, pig or bovine insulin was used.

I owe the quality of life I have been able to live thus far entirely to technology. I fit the definition of a walking, talking, living Cyborg pretty well.
Diabetes does not take vacations. Without the help of all the technology I have, my life would not seem anywhere near as normal as I have been able to live it. There are many people I have known for years, who only found out I was diabetic years after I first met them.

The daily struggles of life with diabetes cannot be describe or justly explained. It is not something to broadcast to the world, rather simply a condition that I must live with until a cure is found. Thanks to the technology this world has to offer, I am able to do just that.

I am not the only one this technology affects. Children all of the world are being diagnosed every day. They do not deserve it, and yet that are forced to mature at a rate faster than any other kid in their class, or group of friends. The Juvenile Diabetes Association works every day to raise money to aid the research to find the cure for this disease. I have done work with the JDRF in the past, and hope to be able to do even more now that I am in college and beyond. The JDRF is very much responsible for being able to make such incredible technology available to the many, many families that juvenile diabetes effects. A cure can and will be found, but until that day comes, technology will continue to allow me to live, and be not just a part of my life, but be the source of my life.

This video is a way to give you a slight glimpse into what life with diabetes is like for young teens and kids.

References

Title: The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Site: http://www.chw.org/NavTopImages/chw_logo.gif
Date: 21 February 2008

Title: JDRF
Site: http://sugarcube1639.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/jdrf_pms_english.jpg
Date: 16 February 2008

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Site: http://www.robbinssports.com/sporting-goods-store/images/wilson-tds-f1205r-official-sized-game-football.jpg
Date: 16 February 2008

Title: Diabetes Pancreas cells
Site: http://medicalimages.allrefer.com/large/type-i-diabetes.jpg
Date: 16 February 2008

Title: Medical Alert Necklace
Site: http://i22.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/78/52/07f3_2.JPG
Date: 16 February 2008

Title: Movie
Site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXztNaRKP5g
Date: 16 February 2008