My Diagnosis Story

By: Taylor Anthony

My name is Taylor Anthony and I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on Jan 2, 2019 when I was 14 years old.  When I was first diagnosed and in the hospital, I had two questions:  With cross country running being my passion, I immediately asked if I would still be able to run?  My next question was how could I use this diagnosis for good?  Running and diabetes proved to be a challenge at first.  Learning to manage the intense activity and training proved to be extremely difficult, with lots of scary low blood sugars. We briefly wondered if this was just too hard to manage.  However, with a lot of support from other Type 1 runners and the entire Type 1 community, I went on to win my first of three cross country state championships just ten months later. I am the most excited that I can use my running success to encourage other people with and without Type 1.

I am very fortunate that I have access to some of the best technology to help me manage my diabetes.  I have a continuous glucose monitor which, once inserted, tracks  my blood sugars in real time to allow me to plan dosing needs and activity.  I also have an insulin pump which communicates directly with my glucose monitor to deliver insulin injections throughout the day and night.  I’m so thankful for these amazing advancements that have saved my life on a few occasions.

I’m very thankful for JDRF and all the support that I have received.  I became a JDRF Youth Ambassador because I want to share JDRF’s mission and my story to help encourage other kids living with T1D. I hope to raise awareness so that life saving technology will be accessible for all people with Type 1 diabetes. I’m also excited to help fund research to cure diabetes and help turn Type 1 into Type None.

Living with T1D can be challenging at times.  But hard things can be really great things and just because type 1 diabetes can be hard, it doesn’t have to stop you from living your best life