Phair Elizabeth Haldin is a senior at New Milford High School where she is Co-Captain of the Boys Swim & Dive Team. Phair acts in many local theatre productions and in her high school musical productions. She is applying to colleges for animation and illustration and she shares her T1D story here.

When I was 12, I was at a track meet, begging my coach to take me out of the 400 meter race. I loved track, yet on this day I ran into the bathroom several times to cry. I didn’t want to be there and I didn’t know why. Was I still hungry? I had eaten every bit of food my mother had brought, but I wasn’t satisfied.

My mother says I was pale and skinny. I found out later I had lost ten pounds over three months. By the end of the meet, she scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician for the next morning. It was then I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. May 23, 2013.

It was devastating for my parents, but I had no idea what “diabetes” meant. I figured it would pass, like a cold. But my parent’s faces showed otherwise. My mother said, “Phair, you know that this is for life, right?” I began crying. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I knew that my life would change forever.

The first year was very trying, from all the shots I had to take to the foods that I could no longer eat, but eventually it became routine. Everything went almost back to normal. Three years passed. And then it got much worse.

My father and I are car enthusiasts, so one weekend my family and I went to the New York International Car Show. We had a great day, together as a family. As we were leaving the city on the train, my mother noticed that my younger brother, Owen, was showing the same symptoms I had shown at the track meet. We just had dinner, yet he was asking for more food. She asked me to test his blood, right there on the train, just to see. I pulled out my tester, pricked my brother’s finger, and put his blood on the testing strip. Testers don’t read numbers over 500, and normal numbers are between 80 at 120. His number did not read. It was over 500.

I burst into tears, my mother called my endocrinologist, and my brother – who did not understand because he has autism – held me, telling me that everything was going to be ok and petting my hair. There was only a three percent chance that my brother would get diabetes. One of my worst fears had come true.

When I look back, that moment on the train is the moment I knew I had to do more. When it was just me, I could figure it out. But once I realized my brother had Type 1 too, I knew that I, personally, had to do more. Not just for Owen, but all those young people who get diagnosed. I had a newfound desire to help others like me. I started volunteering at the local JDRF chapter events and created a JDRF One Walk Team to raise money. This year I became a Youth Ambassador. I am honored to use my name, my face, my voice, to bring awareness to this disease.

We all encounter difficult times. It’s what shapes us, and makes us who we are today. Whether that experience makes us better people depends how we decide to handle it. Testing Owen’s blood and seeing no number on the tester – that was the event that changed me. It was the catalyst that sparked me to do more, and I’d like to think that it has made me a better individual. Although my life changed forever, and so did my brother’s, and my parent’s, we decided to handle it in the most positive way we know how. I’ll always be grateful for the valuable lesson I learned: One person can make a difference, even in a small way. And it feels really good when you do.

Phair Haldin

Click here to read about Phair’s One Walk