Hello, my name is Bethany. I have had diabetes since the age of 3 years: it has been a roller coaster of a life so far.
I'm now currently 14, turning 15 next month, at school studing for my GCSEs, and I'm doing a lot of sports.
All through my life I've had the the best support ever! By everyone in my family, and most of all my identical twin sister Rhiannon. She is also diabetic, and was diagnosed at the age of 4.
When I was younger I used to be on insulin pens, all the time. It was such a hassle: I had to eat at certain times for the insulin to work; I would get marks and bruises from the injections, and I hated it as, being a young child, I wanted to go out and play, eat sweets and be a normal child, but I couldn't. I also used to want sweets and chocolate like all the other kids, but I couldn't have them.
Sneaky sweeties
Slowly I started to understand why I couldn't all these things, but then I started to sneak things, like Haribos, lollies and sweets. Eventually my mam and dad found out, so I stopped for a bit, but I just went back and started doing it again
Bucking my ideas up
My mam and dad started getting worried about what could happen if i carried on doing this. The only way they could get me to stop was to show me pictures of what might happen. If you're not careful you might get your feet took off because they would be in such bad condition. This then bucked up my ideas and I started to be healthy again, and everything was normal.
Life-changing pump
Then five years ago, when I was 9 or 10, I got an insulin pump: it really has changed my life. Now my daily routine consists of: waking up and being able to lie in on some mornings; I dont have breakfast if I'm not hungry (but most days do); I then have dinner at a range of times and the same for tea and maybe something before bed.
All I need to do is make sure I check my BG and enter the carbohydrates into my insulin pump: it will automatically tell me how much insulin I need and correct my background insulin. This has honestly changed my life around.
At the moment my mam and dad are trying very hard to get me the BG sensor, which you inject a needle and leave this little lever in your belly/arm/leg/bum. You check your BG every morning then not once for the rest of the day because it automatically tests your blood.
I really wanted to share my story with you as I hope to encourage those who've just been diagnosed or those frightened to try out new things. My word is DON'T BE SCARED YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT!
Just think of that, thank you for your time! xx
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