Age: 28 Year Diagnosed: 2000 Location: Torrance, Ca
"It took me almost 12 years after diagnosis for me to really get my head straight and figure out this diabetes part of my life. I had to work full time, went to school full time and also be a type 1 full time. I had no choice but to get it together-so I did . But a few years later things changed, my grandmother passed away after months of taking care of her and it wasn't easy for me. It was hard because I felt I could have done more and kept playing things back in my head but I knew there was nothing more I could have done. Then 1 year later the best thing happened and I found out I was pregnant while going through a diabetes trial. Once my fiancé and I found out, we knew things had to change. So I lowered my A1C from 9 to 5.4 throughout the pregnancy and we had a beautiful healthy baby girl named Sophia. Two years later, here we are with a healthy boy and I had Jacob with an A1C of 5.5 . They made me take control of my diabetes because without these two blessings my A1C wouldn't be this awesome. I knew I couldn't let diabetes take control of me. I had to take control and show that I have diabetes, not diabetes has me! I never thought I could have such a low A1C until I actually applied myself and saw how great it made me feel."