I am writing about my grandson. I was helping my son raise him and his sister, all of us living close together. Jake was with me every day. He started wetting his bed. He had never wet the bed since we had gotten him potty trained. We went a few days without doing anything until he started begging for more and more water. I had given him a 12 oz. glass full yet he kept wanting more.

I called our pediatrician and told the nurse that Jake was a diabetic and described his symptoms. She advised that she would speak to the doctor and call back. When she returned the call, she said that the doctor doubted it but to make me feel better, bring him to the hospital for lab work. They then called me and advised that the doctor felt like there might be a problem with the equipment and to take him back the next morning.

I was then told that he was a bad diabetic - four years old with a reading of 186. They requested that I bring him to the doctor's office right then for insulin. We were sent to the hospital for training. I was told that following a bad case of the chicken pox, he saw more children becoming diabetics than at any other time. Jake had just had chicken pox.

He was on 5 shots a day and it was really hard to get his rate. We went through some tough times during his teens. He wanted to be normal and at times just did whatever he wanted to just be like his friends. Then we would run into problems. He was put on the pump and was doing much better, but because he was so thin, the catheter kept coming out. He then went back to the shots.

Jake is now 22 years old and back on the insulin pump. He works on an ambulance, has worked in cardio ICU, and with the fire department. He is going about his life, is married, has a beautiful son and is expecting another child.

I have to admit that his marriage to a nurse gave me comfort. He has passed some of the hardest fire and defense training. He has never let his diabetes stop him from doing what he wants to do. I am very proud of him dealing with this disease and not letting it consume his life. Jake lives his life by not letting pity overcome him because he has achieved these victories and has many years ahead of him.

When I was 11 months old my parents were told I had "TB" but they did not think that I did, finally my third doctor who had Type 1 since he was thirteen asked my parents for a wet diaper, which he then squeezed and tested the urine. Of course it was positive for diabetes, he immediately had me in the hospital and told my parents that I had a 50/50 chance of living through the night. I did and after a month in the hospital my parents had to deal in giving their infant daughter a shot, which in those days were glass syringes and large steel needles one to charge the bottle of insulin and one to inject with. I am now approaching 50 and I have given birth to three healthy sons, and just became a grandmother.

I was only hospitalized when diagnosed, both my parents kept the whole family on the same diet, which in those days were very limited choices and I was cared for by numerous endocrinologists some very famous. My case was written up in medical books as being diagnosed at such an early age was very unusual.

I thank my parents for taking such good care of me, because I did not suffer any of the possible conditions such as blindness, kidney failure, etc. I am a relatively healthy person, and I enjoy not having to use glass syringes, and love the new blood glucose meters that do such a better job than urine tests. But most of all the choices in insulins is great.

I look forward to a day when no one will have to inject themselves.

It was two days before my tenth birthday (47 years ago) and the big joke was that this year it fell on Friday the 13th. The "curse" was that it wasn't even the 13th and I was feeling horrible. I had bad pains in my legs, I was always thirsty, and I couldn't stay awake. The good part was that I'd lost some weight and had yet to go shopping for new clothes.

I awoke Thursday morning to my mother telling me I didn't have to go to school. Was this an early birthday present? No,we were going to find out what was wrong with me. We had a 2PM appointment at The Joslin Clinic in Boston and I had been instructed to eat lightly. Light it was-I ate jello all day. In those days there was no such thing as "sugar-free" foods or soda. Little did I realize that this would eventually lead to my blood sugar being 660mg at my initial clinic visit.

This was the prelude to my life with diabetes. I went through the early years of my disease being guided by renown physicians like Elliot P. Joslin and Dr. Priscilla White. However, it didn't negate the burdens of having to boil one's urine in Benedicts solution to determine how much insulin to take nor did it alleviate the spurs on the steel needles that had to be boiled weekly along with the glass syringes. There were few choices in foods and fewer choices in insulin regimes.

How things have changed! How lucky to be diagnosed with diabetes today, rather than years ago, with all the knowledge and alternatives presently available. There are food options, pump options, groups to speak with, acknowledgment of a disease one can live with as opposed to one that you die from. The changes that have occurred over the past 47 years are vast and new discoveries present new options to "we" diabetics frequently that were never thought of years ago.

Never did I think that the approach my parents used with my diabetes-acting as emotional outlets as opposed to emotional corks-would lead me into my present position in life. I am a Board Certified Diplomat in Clinical Social Work and counsel many diabetics and their family members as to the psychosocial dynamics of this disease. It's interesting how the treatment approach to this disease has changed...but the psychological impact hasn't. This is the dynamic that is so challenging: why is it that some are able to cope and deal while others aren't? Why is it that some are willing to calculate and bolus while others deny and invite complications? These are some of the questions that have challenged and intrigued me- motivated me to speak with and work along with other diabetics. My belief is that we have choices. My choice in dealing with this disease is to control "it" and not allow "it" to control me. I have two and a half years left before receiving my 50 year medal from the Joslin Clinic. I remember on Day One being told of this medal and what it represents. I believe that all of "us" should strive to achieve a healthy life...a life that is fulfilling and fulfilled. A life that is sweet from life's gifts rather than sweetened by our body's deficiencies. We have that choice.