I was 12 years old and had just entered into the scary world of junior high school when I started to feel very ill. It was December in 1971 and I remember feeling so cold and tired. I came home from school and would dive into my bed with the heat on full force and go into a deep slumber. I also began losing weight fast. In fact I lost 42 lbs. in one month which really scared my Mom. She began to ask different people what the problem could be including the pastor's wife who had a daughter who is diabetic. She smelled the fruity odor of my breath and saw how out of breath I was and told my Mom what she suspected. My Mom took me to an elderly family physician in the neighborhood. At that time the medical community was not as aware of the prevalence of diabetes in the young and this physician told my Mom that it was a "stage" I was going through. My Mom started feeding me milkshakes and french toast to fatten me up, but of course, I only lost more weight. My Mom decided to get a second opinion which resulted in my being rushed to the hospital for 2 weeks for I was comatose by then.While hospitalized, I learned to inject myself with insulin twice a day. The disposable syringes had just then been invented and of course it was in the 1980's before the home glucose monitors were invented so I had to monitor my sugar by the urine tests 4 times a day.

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