Photo by Katie Wills

On October 2, 2016 Harper Wills was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. She had to learn how to deal with her new everyday life, and be a normal kid. Photo By Katie Wills.

Chronic Illness is a long-term health condition, and it often has no cure. Diabetes, heart disease, and celiac are all examples. Chronic illness is not something you can prevent, and can be a part of genetics, behavior, environment, and infections. While conquering the daily challenges of life, chronic illness adds to the everyday stress.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, which results in little to no insulin production. This leaves diabetics with the need of constant insulin injections and watching blood sugar levels or risking their life. 

I have lived with T1D since I was seven, but I did not realize the extent of its effects in my everyday life until I reached high school. The constant anxiety of blood sugar and the symptoms like shakiness, dizziness, and confusion further complicate my school life. The constant burn out I feel every day, that has no end. I am often told I am very mature for my age, but diabetes forced me to give up my childhood to take care of myself. High school is a stressful time: preparing for college, participating in extracurriculars, and balancing friends. Academics are crucial; students find themselves spending most of their time prepping for tests or finishing homework.

Throughout my school years, I never needed extra help on maintaining grades or completing tests. While T1D can have challenges at times, it never affected me to the point of struggling in school. I always found myself powering through and not letting diabetes rule my life.

As a student, my goal is to get good grades and begin to prepare myself for the real world. Recently, I began to take an ACT prep class in order to improve my score, and eventually strengthen my college portfolio. I spent a total of four weeks preparing for my first real ACT on October 18. It consisted of hours of practice tests, fixing incorrect answers, and even learning from a teacher on new strategies to improve my score. 

As the day of the test approached, I began to feel confident and ready to take on my first ACT. I sat down in the room filled with other students, and blended in with everyone. I began to fill out my personal information for the test. Before the test started, I notified the teacher that I had an Insulin pump and it occasionally vibrates when giving me medicine. The teacher acknowledged my warning, and notified the main proctor of the necessity of my insulin pump. A few minutes later, I was taken out of the ACT room and told I was a “distraction” to the other students taking the test, and it invalidated everyone else in the room. With tears in my eyes, I collected all my things and walked out. The embarrassment and dread I felt compared to no other experience. A few minutes ago, I was just like everyone else, ready to take my test like a normal student. I was then told to leave the testing center, and I would have to get accommodations in order to take the test months later in December.

The weeks preparing for the ACT had all gone to waste, and I was told something keeping me alive was a distraction to the rest of the room. I spent weeks wondering why this had to happen to me, and how it was fair. I had never needed accommodations for school before. The lasting emotional effects of this experience stand with me today, and it solidifies the lack of knowledge of the disease.

My experience is not unique. Diabetes is a disease that can often lead to people feeling alone, or invalidated. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 350 teenagers have type 1 diabetes. Chronic illness makes it difficult to navigate the world. The disease requires 24/7 control, leading to extracurriculars and academics becoming more complicated. Factors like stress and exercise make it more difficult to remain stable. 

“Sports are hard because I really have to watch for lows,” sophomore Austin Hitzeman said. “If it goes too low I cannot keep playing.”

I constantly struggle with the distractions of diabetes. The social aspect of high school is already difficult for many people, but diabetes further complicates a social life. A small vibration from an insulin pump, and all eyes are on me. The constant reminders to others of the disease, leads to a feeling of embarrassment.

As a kid, I was constantly asked “What is on your arm?” or “What was that sound?” These questions, although harmless, can make a person feel like an outcast. I constantly wanted to be a normal kid, who didn’t have to worry about the disease’s requirements. My mind had to act as a manual organ, because my pancreas had failed me.

“I was really self-conscious about having it [insulin pump],” English teacher Chloe Healy said. “I felt there was no way for me to be subtly diabetic, and I could only be out there.”

While I have grown to be confident with the disease I face everyday, there are still challenges I face. Even if it has been nine years, I will mourn the life I lived before I was diagnosed. The constant reminders of being sick leads to a feeling of isolation. The world is not built for people with diabetes.