My story: Bill and type 1 diabetes

A diabetes diagnosis can feel like a gut punch, especially when it comes out of the blue. Bill explains how one biometric screening changed his life and how family, fitness, and technology have helped him take back control.

Transcript

00:00

[MUSIC PLAYING] I don't know why got diabetes. I don't know how. I think I was so scared because I didn't know what brought it on.

00:09

I found out by actually doing a biometric screening at work. They came over and they were like, hey, Bill, are you diabetic?

00:16

And I said, no, I'm not diabetic. He said, OK, well, your blood sugar is really high right now. One day after lunch, I just felt really weird.

00:24

So I checked it and it was-- it was close to 400. I went to the emergency room and was admitted there. And the ER doctor said, yeah, he said, you've got diabetes.

00:33

The first person that I told was my wife. I had sent a group text to my family and I told them what was going on,

00:41

that I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It's good to have people that you can-- can lean on for support.

00:47

And my wife and my immediate family are right there with me. And I can talk to them anytime. The key things that I've learned about my health

00:55

is mainly just watching my-- my carbs. You know, my lifestyle has changed. I have a continuous glucose monitor

01:03

that I wear in the back of my arm that I can just hold my phone up to, and I-- and it gets a reading of what my blood sugar is.

01:09

So being very conscious of what my blood sugar is throughout all times of the day and making sure that I take the correct amount of insulin

01:16

before I eat has really been the biggest change, I would say, in my-- in my day-to-day life.

01:22

The best advice that I can give you about being diagnosed with diabetes is to not be discouraged. I'm not letting that dictate how I want to live my life.

01:30

This is a disease that basically forces you to live a healthy lifestyle. I mean, you have to eat healthy, you have to exercise.

01:36

You know, I recently got married. And my wife and I, we want to start a family. And knowing that, you know, in the future,

01:43

I want to be there for my kids. I want to be the father that, you know, my father is, to my kids. And so if I let diabetes control my life,

01:51

I'm not going to be that person that I want to be. And diabetes is going to be a part of it, and that's all it's going to be. It's not going to control it.