Type 1 Diabetes Persuasive Speech

That bump you see underneath my shirt is not my cell phone, but my insulin pump. The scars on my finger tips aren’t freckles, but scars from testing my blood sugar over and over each day. I am just your average teenager when it comes to school, family, and friends. But when it comes to my health, I am not so average. I face the not-so-average questions of, “Why do you have a wire hanging from your hip?”, “Do you need to go shoot up your drugs?”, and the best one yet- “You eat salad everyday. how did you get diabetes? You’re so skinny, I don’t understand!”

Yes, I eat salad. Yes, I am in good shape. And yes, I do have diabetes. I am a Type 1 Diabetic. “Well, can’t you just work out or eat healthier and you won’t have to deal with it anymore?”,

My older sister, Maggie, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of eight, but I remained uneducated. I worried about Maggie, but I wasn’t sure why? Then, two years ago I when I was diagnosed, I got crash course! Up until freshman year, I still asked my mom which type of Diabetes Maggie had-- 1 or 2. There is nothing more frustrating then being asked that question when you’re a Type 1 Diabetic. The fact that I used to ask that question truly makes me upset now. Why did I never take the time to learn what was wrong with the person I looked up to the most? Unfortunately, I’ve learned far too quickly what the life of a Diabetic is like, and I would not wish it upon my worst

Diabetes instantaneously made that phrase my reality.. I like to call this story, the worst day of my life. My nerves were already on edge because I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled. When I came home from the surgery, I felt horrible. Getting out of bed was an ordeal; my body felt lousy. Even though I could eat all the ice cream I wanted, I just asked for more and more water. Considering I’m an ice cream addict, my mom found this very odd. She also noticed some symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes, one of them being increased thirst. The next time she came in to check on me, she had my sister’s blood sugar test kit. My heart started pounding. “What are you trying to do with that!!!”I kept asking. My mom tried to calm me down by saying she just wanted to see something, but that did not calm me down as I continued to keep pulling my hand away. She pricked my finger, and I knew in three seconds my life would change drastically. “Beep!” my heart stopped for a second as I watched my mother’s face go from anxious to distraught. My blood sugar was at 245. A non-Diabetic average should be 70-130. I burst into tears, panicking, not knowing if I had diabetes or if this could be another disease. “I don 't want to die. I don 't want anything wrong with me,” I kept screaming, while sobbing into my father’s arms. My dad kept reassuring me that I would be okay. I just wanted to sleep at this point, but little did I know I