Type 1 Diabetes
Now that I am older I found out that I have had type 1 diabetes since I was 20 months old. When you are a kid with diabetes you can’t take care of yourself on your own and need to depend on your parents for help more than other kids. I needed my parents and sometimes even my big sister Kara to help me with my insulin and my blood sugars to keep me staying safe. Having type 1 diabetes has caused me to be very dependent on my family and this is all I can remember.
AKF Lexington
When I started martial arts I was super shy and didn’t like to do anything on my own. It felt more comfortable to have my parents with me. Over the past few years I have grown out of my comfort zone and tried many new things. At karate, I have learned it is good meeting new people that I didn’t know before and it is ok to talk with them. I have even started to teach others how to do parts of their forms. When my dad was busy, I stepped up to do this on my own. Learning some independence in karate has helped me to be braver and try new things outside of karate.
Everyday Independence
Away from AKF Lexington, I am doing more things on my own. For example, I have made a lot of new friends in school and I can be a leader with them when we play football during recess. I decided to try archery which is something no one in my family knows anything about and was a big surprise to my parents!
I learned about indoor rock climbing and I told my mom I wanted to try it even though it was something I haven’t done. I am scared of heights so I had to find a way to overcome this fear. I had to be independent and climb because I was the only person in my family to do it. I had to learn and coach myself, dad can’t help me on this one!
At school, I always have to be careful with my diabetes. I have been paying more attention to my glucose numbers and how much insulin I have dosed after eating. One day I noticed I had a lot more insulin onboard than I ever had before and was able to talk to my teacher to have her help me fix it. I also started doing more with my diabetes at home like taking off my pump site and glucose monitor when it is time for them to be changed.
Conclusion
Doing things for myself is sometimes scary to think about but not as scary for me as it was before martial arts. I am not afraid to do new stuff and I’ve learned it is ok if I fail. I can try again and again until I get things right. The lessons and confidence, I now have from AKF Lexington, has really helped me and I believe I can do so many things now. Thank you AKF!
Submitted by: Max
