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Life Goes On: Learning to cope with diabetes
Date published: 5/6/2008
"YOU HAVE dia- betes."
Those three simple words crashed down on me with the force of an avalanche. How could this be happening, I wondered. It can't be happening! But it was.
I remembered all those times that I had told myself that nothing would ever happen to me, that I would always live a full life, free of illness and disease. But here I was, sitting stunned in my doctor's office after receiving the news that changed my life.
It all started when my family noticed my dramatic weight loss after returning to school. At first, my parents thought that this was simply the result of intense fitness. I had recently started a seasonal sport program at my middle school and was getting my fill of vigorous exercise every day.
Things would have kept on normally--but soon, I became even skinnier. I became unfocused and distracted in my classes, and my good grades began to drop. My parents became very worried for me, and after a quick check of my weight on our home scale, we had no choice but to pay a visit to the doctor. I had dropped from 113 to 90 pounds in a matter of a month!
Upon receiving the harrowing news, my mom decided to take me to the children's hospital in Washington, D.C., for treatment. At this point, we were very stressed out and had no idea what we were supposed to do. So, after leaving my little sister in the care of my grandparents, we set off.
When we got there, the clinic that we had to go to was closed, so we waited with another family for it to open. When it did, we were introduced to "Dr. V" (as her last name was unpronounceable). She was very friendly and, after explaining the circumstances, advised us to take a training class in order to learn all that we needed to know about diabetes.
After an hour or so, we went to eat lunch in the hospital cafeteria. It was a challenge--knowing the right foods to pick and how much to eat; but after a while, we settled on a proper meal. The only thing that was important at the moment was regulating my blood-sugar levels and giving my body the proper nutrition. Once we had finished eating, we returned to our training class to continue our discussion.
Our trip to the hospital helped me comprehend more of my illness. I want everyone to know that diabetes does not prevent me from doing what everyone else can. I can be an Olympic swimmer, play soccer and even run a marathon if I put my mind to it. I believe that God has planned a special purpose for me through all of our trials. And every day I am hoping for a cure.
Ashley Prosser is a sixth-grader at Fredericksburg Academy.
Date published: 5/6/2008
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