Youth Ambassador Spotlight: Meet Isabella Cuartas

Isabella receives her black belt, certificate and trophy.

Hi, my name is Isabella Cuartas and I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2016 at 11 years old. I decided early that I wouldn’t let diabetes get in the way of one of my passions: martial arts.

Since I was 2 ½ years old, I have been training in the martial art of karate.  At our martial arts school, Family Dragon Karate, students call me “Laosi” Isabella which means “teacher” in Mandarin. We work with children and adults of all needs. My father is the main instructor, my mom is the manager and my brother is a “sempai” which means “assistant teacher”. Being a part of my family business has changed my life and I know without it, I wouldn’t be as focused, tenacious, determined and respectful as I am now.

Isabella and her father perform the traditional tea ceremony after the black belt is achieved and before the belt is presented.

This past January, on my 14th birthday, I tested for my adult black belt. This 4-hour test was filled with intense exercises and basically everything I’ve learned from the start of my training. I have been working so hard to get to this goal and I couldn’t believe the big day was finally here. We are always extra careful with me during these belt testing events knowing that these high levels of activity may drop my blood sugar. My mom is ready with my glucometer along with some honey, and my dad, who leads the belt tests, keeps a close eye on me and checks if I’m feeling okay. During this test, I felt like my muscles were on fire and my legs were like jelly. At one point, right before we were all ready to spar, I felt like I was possibly running low. I thought for a moment that maybe this can wait until after the test to do a glucose check. But then I remembered that diabetes can’t just be tossed along the sidelines, my health comes first. I immediately told my mom and I checked myself. Luckily, I was in range and got right back into the test.

Even though this belt test was extremely difficult, my friends and family were there to support me and it was all worth it in the end. I am now a black belt at 14 years old and I have Type 1 diabetes. This just goes to show that even with T1D, you should never let that stop you from doing the things you love and achieving your greatest goals.

Isabella Cuartas