I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 18 months old, so I never knew anything different going into college. One thing I did have, though, was my mom. In high school and growing up, she was always there to help me navigate my diabetes. She would get up with me in the middle of the night, bring me juice when my blood sugar was low, and stay by my side. When I went to college, however, this all changed.Â
I committed to an out-of-state college, a 16-hour drive from home and everything I knew, including my mom — my most enormous rock and biggest supporter when it came to navigating my diabetes. This was honestly really hard at first. For the first time in my life, no one was getting up with me in the middle of the night when I went low, no one was there to make sure my blood sugar was ok, and I was utterly alone in navigating my diabetes. Of corse, my mom was still there for me, but it was different with her being 16 hours away. At first, it was much easier than I expected. I had no issues initially; however, that changed. It was the second semester of my freshman year when my blood sugar dropped dangerously low. It fell to 13, dangerously low as the normal blood sugar range is 80 to 140. This resulted in me having a diabetic seizure in the middle of the dorm common area.Â
I don’t remember the seizure, but I remember waking up in the back of an ambulance surrounded by EMTs. They told me I had a seizure, and that if I had not been given a shot of glucagon, I would’ve died. This was terrifying. I remember the fear and confusion I felt. Honestly, I didn’t believe I had had a seizure at first. I wanted my mom there so badly; nothing like this had ever happened to me – in all my years of having type 1, I never experienced something this scary. Of course, being the amazing human she is, she flew into Boulder that same day to care for me. I still can’t express how thankful I am for the medical professionals and the student who called them for saving my life.Â
This sounds crazy, but I am thankful for that experience since it taught me how to better care for myself. I now carry emergency glucose with me at all times, which I admittedly did not before. I also constantly wear a medical ID bracelet, so that if something does happen, I can get the correct help. I cannot recommend wearing medical ID bracelets enough – they can mean the difference between life and death. For anyone who also has type 1 or any sort of medical condition, these should be part of your everyday outfit. I never take mine off. iPhones also now have a feature where you can add a medical ID with an emergency contact attached to it.Â
Fast forward to my junior year. Diabetes, and everything else, has been smooth sailing. I haven’t had any sort of diabetes related emergency since then, and for that I am so thankful. My diabetes has never been more in control, and my blood sugars have been close to perfect. I did, however, struggle with these seemingly random fainting spells. I would pass out and have no idea why. I knew it wasn’t related to my diabetes, and no one seemed to understand why I would pass out when I stood up too fast, or when I went from lying down to standing up. On top of fainting, I was also experiencing extreme fatigue, insomnia, and heart palpitations. When I would go from sitting to standing, my heart rate would jump up to 170, an abnormal increase. Well, this all led to a POTS diagnosis. Honestly, I only found out about the POTS several weeks ago, so its still new to me.
Navigating college with Type 1 Diabetes and POTS has been a struggle, but I still have a fantastic support system, including my sorority sisters, my boyfriend, and my family. I have had to learn how to adjust my lifestyle to be healthy, but it is possible to leave home and have a whole and happy life under these conditions. I just have to keep salt and glucose on me at all times! People with chronic conditions can do the same things as everyone else. We can go to an out-of-state college and live a full and happy life; we just have to take a few extra steps to get there.