Diagnosis: Diabetes

If you knew that your life would change in an instant, how would you react? Sophomore Anna McNair was put in this position when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

“I was diagnosed December of eighth grade,” Anna said. “I went to the doctor not knowing I was experiencing pre–diagnosis symptoms. I was constantly thirsty. I was drinking tons of fluid and peeing them right out. I also began to loose weight. The pounds were just falling off of me.”

Upon hearing the news, Anna’s mom immediately called Anna’s dad and the rest of her family.

“My mom and I were in shock, and didn’t know what to think,” Anna said. “We started to cry. It was especially hard because I was diagnosed over Christmas break.”

Not only did Anna have to cope with her diagnosis, but her family did also.

“We had to quickly adjust as a family, because we had no choice,” Cary McNair, Anna’s dad, said. “Life was giving us a test, and it was something we could manage. Of course we have had our faith in God, family, and friends to help us through tough times.”

 Having a couple of weeks off of school for the break, Anna attempted to adjust to her new life. Going straight to the hospital to start treatment, she was placed in a three-day program to learn about the disease she knew virtually nothing about. Anna was given the choice to use a medical pump, which supplies the insulin her body is lacking, or shots that performs the same function.

“I enjoyed taking a break from the pump this summer and doing shots,” Anna said.  “Shots are definitely more convenient if you are in and out of the water all day long. However, I needed to improve my blood sugar and the pump is working much better. The insulin dosing is so accurate.”  

With the shot method, Anna injected insulin into her body after every meal, whereas now with the pump, a tube stays in her body and is replaced every three days. A tiny piece of plastic tubing rests in the subcutaneous fat. The tubing continues to the insulin supply in the pump. A needle helps to inject the tubing into her body but is removed immediately after insertion. The tube releases insulin when needed and is held in place by a sticky adhesive.

“The pump is the next best ting to a real pancreas,” Anna said.  “It is very successful in keeping blood sugar stable. The pump is about the size of a cell phone and clips onto your clothes. You wear it 24-7. I see people all the time in the halls or even in my classes that just can’t help but stare at the weird purple thing that is clipped to my pants. But I don’t mind, I don’t blame them.”

Living with this incurable disease has forced Anna to modify her daily activities.   

“Usually I check my blood sugar at least eight times a day,” Anna said. “As an athlete, monitoring my blood sugar is a constant battle, dealing with the highs and lows. Typically with activity, your blood sugars will drop because you are burning the sugar in your body. Usually when you are low you can feel the symptoms and get very shaky. So if during the game I feel low, I will tell coach to pull me out. I also check my blood sugar at half-time.”

If left in an unstable state, a diabetes condition can worsen quickly. Lack of concentration, seizures, diabetic coma, insulin shock or even death could result.

“Trying to understand why it happened to me was difficult in the beginning,” Anna said. “But diabetes is a permanent disease. There are no breaks, no vacations.”