Flying the nest: preparing for university with T1D

“When I was 11, freshly diagnosed, my mother carried a scale everywhere. I mean, everywhere. She’d count out the exact carbohydrate values of everything I consumed with scientific precision. The kitchen, it seemed, was stocked with a never–ending supply of diet soda, sugar–free jello, and every form of cheese imaginable. My room looked like a pharmacy: boxes of orange juice lined up neatly beside my bed, vials of insulin stacked on the bookshelf. These are the small things you take for granted as a kid with T1D. Gradually, I’ve learned to take responsibility for those little things myself, in preparation for university.

Facing the unknown

My first big hurdle came when my parents decided to ship me off to tennis camp in Spain. Not only was I faced with unknown territory, but I was separated from the guidance of my doctors (sorry, I mean my parents) completely. The prospect couldn’t have been more terrifying – this was a sports camp, going low was inevitable. I’m not going to say I had it all under control by the end of the trip but gradually, I learned to maximise my safety by keeping up with the small things. I finally forced myself to wear my diabetes alert bracelet. I was solely responsible for keeping my insulin vials in the fridge. I made sure to bring glucose tabs with me to every session, and I overcame the embarrassment of asking the teacher for a time–out if I needed one. The idea of letting go of vigilant control over my carbohydrate count scared me, but by the end I learned to guesstimate with pretty good accuracy (there are about 44 grams of carbs in a cup of white rice, in case you were wondering). Ironically, loosening that control actually helped me to keep my sugars in check, and to have a better time at camp overall. I was less worried about getting things ‘exactly’ right, so I had fewer spiralling moments. My attitude shifted: ‘if I go low, I’ll just have an ice cream. That’s not so bad’.   

Navigating night-time lows

My mom and I always joke that it’s ironic that a life-threatening condition like T1D can be treated with jelly beans. My mom has always been my personal ‘jelly-beans-feeder’ at night if my blood sugars drop (a title I’m not sure she’d appreciate) and pod-changer if I catch it on something when I’m asleep. Night-times without your parents are daunting. It’s not until I went to an American University to get a sense for life after school that I came face to face with those scary nights alone. The changes were small and gradual: setting my low alarm slightly higher than the usual 3.9, so I woke myself up in time to deal with it. Keeping pods and insulin ready to go beside my bed in case one fell off, which it often did. Having the slightly (very) awkward conversation with my roommate, apologising in advance if she heard a baby crying rather loudly (my alarm) during the night, but to wake me up if she heard it. It wasn’t easy and there are some things you just can’t get around. Night-time lows and pod changes won’t suddenly go away, difficult conversations with strangers will have to be had. What I’ve realised, though, is that I really can deal with those things on my own.”

As I prepare for university, I know there will be new struggles I have to overcome – nights out, managing alcohol consumption, living on my own. But luckily, having now had some practice, I know as long as I can give my parents a call – and a rant – from time to time, it will all be okay.”