Life with Diabetes: A College Entrance Essay by an Amazing Young Woman

Today I have something very special to share with you! 

I want to share with you a college admission essay written by a young girl with type 1 diabetes.  I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to read it before it does not make me cry...

This essay is written by Stephanie Franer.  She was diagnosed with T1D at the same age as Sweetpea. 

Stephanie's mom works with J.  In fact, they have worked together a long time and J never knew about Stephanie's diabetes until Sweets was diagnosed.

Dianne is the very first person I talked to after Sweetpea's dx that knew what I was talking about.  I remember clearly talking to her on the phone after being home from the hospital a day or so.  And just having a conversation with someone who was speaking this new language (even though I barely spoke it at all) was one of the most comforting feelings ever. 

Dianne was able to tell me what it was like to have a 3 year old girl diagnosed with diabetes.  They also dealt with the crying and the fighting shots and pain of having your child ask you stop hurting her when you're only doing your best to keep her healthy.  It was unbelievably comforting and encouraging to know they had been in our shoes and that they were just fine.  That they were doing well and living life and making it all work. 

I think that having Dianne at work has been a wonderful thing for J.  I have all you!  I have some wonderful close friends and my parents who I can talk to about diabetes and know that they will understand.  I have all of you to tell me I'm not alone or I'm not crazy or that you've been there, too.  J doesn't really have that.  So having someone that he knows that he can talk relate to on a D level is a good thing!

God sends us angels when we need them the most.  And Dianne and Stephanie have definitely been angels to us! 

Dianne sent us this essay a while back because she thought we would be interested in reading it.  She was right. 

Stephanie's approach to life with diabetes is exactly how I hope Sweets will feel. 

I know that Dianne and her husband are so incredibly proud of Stephanie.  I am, too!  And I know you will be as well.

 Her words are raw and real and heartfelt. I know how hard living with diabetes can be.  And I applaud her outlook and ambition. 

Stephanie,
        We wish you all the best as you begin your college career.  I know that you will be successful no matter what you do or where you go.  You are a fighter.  You are strong.  You are courageous.  You will touch the lives of others and they will be all the better for having known you.  You are an inspiration - not just to kids with diabetes (or Moms of kids with diabetes!) but to everyone! 
          Much, much Love...   and Thank you for sharing this with us!


 

            My name is Stephanie Franer.  When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes.             

            I don’t really remember anything before my diagnosis.  Even in my earliest memories, I was diabetic, almost as if my life began at that point.

              At first, I thought it was fun because I didn’t understand.  I loved the attention.  I went home from the hospital and reality slapped me in the face, even at the age of three.  I eventually realized that this “game” I was playing was actually permanent.  This was real life. 

            Diabetes makes you grow up really fast.  I gave myself my first shot when I was eight.  I tested my own blood sugar, wrote it down in my log book, did calculations for my insulin, and gave myself shots before the age of ten. 

            I became bitter and angry.  I asked questions and wanted answers people couldn’t give me.  Why me? Why did I have to be different? 

            By the time I was eleven, I was obviously different from other children.  I was thin and gangly with glasses and braces.  I was very smart, and on top of all that, I was diabetic.  I was more of an adult than other children because I had so many responsibilities.  In some ways, I never got to be a child. 

            Other kids made fun of me.  At my school, being smart wasn’t cool.  I sat at home and cried multiple nights every week.  I couldn’t focus on my school work, I couldn’t stop arguing with my parents, and I couldn’t connect with kids my own age.

            When you grow up fast, you don’t like to ask for help.  You feel like you can handle all of your problems on your own.  It’s so hard to learn or grow without help. 

            I was destroying myself trying to get rid of my differences: the things that made me unique.    

            Then, I went to camp.  Camp Korelitz is a summer camp for children with diabetes.  It was stunning.  I had never been around so many diabetics in my life. 
Everyone had to test their blood sugar and take insulin.  For one week, everyone was the same.  For the first time, I was happy and hopeful.  I finally had a reason to be thankful for this thing that seemed so wrong. Each summer, I became closer with other campers, who are now some of my best friends.  I wasn’t alone, and the feeling was beautiful.  Every year I looked, and still look, forward to that one week where everyone is the same.

            Slowly, as the years went by, the bitterness ebbed away and I became optimistic.  I’m often told that optimism is one of my most prominent personality traits.

            In high school, I was still different.  I was an inherently good kid because I had already grown up.  I became thankful that I hadn’t been like other children from my grade school who were not very good people.  I began to realize that being different wasn’t a curse.  It was a gift.

            I chose to make friends with my differences. 

            I realized something: life is rough, but you can always handle it.  Asking “Why me?” doesn’t solve your problems.  Besides, my differences are wonderful.  I truly believe that I am the kind of person who can take something unfortunate and terrible and make it beautiful. 

            I am now a counselor at Camp Korelitz.  I want to change my campers’ lives the way camp changed mine.  I want them to take their trials and make them into something beautiful, something to be proud of, because they really are.

            There’s talk about cures for diabetes, but honestly, I can’t be cured.  Physically, I probably could.  However, after fourteen years of living with this, there will always be some part of me that is inherently “diabetastic,” and I’m more than okay with that.

            I want to become an endocrinologist and specialize in diabetes care so I can show diabetic children that life with this disease isn’t terrible or impossible.  I want to use my story to show people that your differences aren’t a weed you need to kill.  They’ll flower into something amazing if you let them.

Was that not amazing?!?

Kids with diabetes are just the most awesome kids ever, right?  And they grow up to be the most incredible adults ever, too!

Thanks again to Stephanie and Dianne for sharing this with us!

Let's show Stephanie and her family know just how wonderful they are!  Leave them a comment here...