Hello!
My name is Ariel and I am 15 years old and I have been a diabetic for 4 years now. I started this web site in January 2008 and I am the founder of www.diabetesrocks.com. I'm growing up in a household where diabetes doesn't have to be a negative thing. My mom has been a diabetic for 32 years now and has no problems. And with her positive attitude and acting like it is no problem has made me realize that diabetes is not the end of the world.
In the beginning of my 7th grade school year I had joined a diabetes support group. The woman that had started the group was also a diabetic. It ran for the 1st marking period only. As weeks passed by I had noticed that the other diabetics did not have the same enthusiasm as I did. Which persuaded me to make this website.
Though I had the same attitude when I first became a diabetic also. I was upset and mad and thought that it was the end of the world. When I became a diabetic I was in the 4th grade. One night I said to my mom that I had been going to the bathroom a lot and drinking lots of fluids. She tested my blood sugar and it was 364. So the next day she had me practice using a blood sugar meter. Then on Monday she told me too go to school and that I should be prepared to leave early. So I went to school and about two hours later my teacher got a call from the office and told me I had to go leave. From there we went to the hospital. I was at the hospital for the whole week. While I was at the hospital I had learned from the nurses and doctors all about diabetes. My mom had also told me more about it since she's also a diabetic. The following Monday I went to school and I was nervous that everyone would think I was weird and strange. Surprisingly they were all amazed and wanted to know more about it. So many people had questions. Today I wear a pink Animas pump and use a FreeStyle Flash meter. And still today everyone thinks that it's cool that I have diabetes and have many questions. From the support of my family and friends I have learned that diabetes is what you make of it. I hope that you learn that from this website.
Take care,
Ariel
