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It has been about 16 months now. It seems like just yesterday that I heard those terrifying words, "You're a Type 1 diabetic." I knew what that meant. I could never fix it. I could never "get better."

This all started when I woke up and realized something was wrong after months of feeling sick, losing weight, peeing what felt like 25 times a day and going through mood swings that nearly drove my wife away.

I am living one day at a time now, and while many people say things like "Oh, that is too bad." Or "Wow, you must miss the sweets." I think I am in better health now than I have been in years. Some days are harder than others, but when you realize the other option, death, I can deal with the ups and downs. I really don't need or want people to feel bad for me. After all, I am not sick. I have a disease with no cure but I am not sick.

For me this all started when I landed in the ICU unit of my local hospital in Diabetic Ketoacidosis. I remember the doctor telling my wife "If you hadn't brought him in, you would have lost him." That is not something you really want to hear your doctor say. It will wake you up.

After a week in the hospital and a lot of tests, medications and changes in diet, I was returned to the world to live a normal life. That is great but what is normal after you are diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic? Nothing. Everything changes.

Along with trying to manage 2 types of insulin, constant testing and adjusting dosages, trying to absorb all the information from the doctor and change all of my eating habits, I had to try and not add too much to the load my wife already had. Working full time and dealing with a 1 year old baby, now she had me to worry about as well.

As the days went on things got better and easier. We learned a ton of stuff about a disease we never thought would touch us and are now educating everyone we can along the way. I think the hardest part of this for me is being an uninsured diabetic. It is an expensive disease to manage. Supplies are expensive, insulin is expensive, doctors are, well, you know.

I was lucky enough to get pointed to a pharmacy in Canada that will sell me insulin much cheaper than in the U.S. but it is still expensive. I have promised myself that I would never let this thing rule my life and aside from a few bad days, it has not. I am proud to say I am beating this disease with the help of my friends and the support of a wonderful family. One day at a time.

Learn more about this author, Christian Killian.
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