Hey everyone, my name is Megan and I just signed up for this site. I used to lurk on the message boards at ADA’s website but didn’t find a lot of material that felt relevant to me so I decided to check this place out. I was diagnosed with T1 on mother’s day 2009 (sorry mom!) with a fasting sugar of 530 and an a1c of 15. Since then I’ve worked hard to keep my sugars down and been successful keeping my a1c below 6.5.
A little about me: I’m 22 years old, a senior and full-time student at University of Pittsburgh studying Microbiology and Chemistry with a certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. My post-college plans are likely to take a year off to work in a laboratory, after which I hope to pursue a Ph.D in either Immunology or Infectious Diseases. I enjoy video games, reading, school, and music, and I keep active and busy despite diabetes by marching in my university’s drumline.
In the beginning, I struggled for a long time trying to cope with the diagnosis and living with the disease because I felt as though it was unfair and somebody allegedly in the prime of their life shouldn’t have to deal with this. Fortunately, I received a lot of support and insight from my family since my father has been living with T1 since he was 15. I live by the saying “everything happens for a reason” and since my diagnosis, I’ve made diabetes fit into that as well. Being diagnosed with the disease sparked an interest in research and microbiology, so that gave me the career goal that prior to diabetes I lacked, as many college students do. I use it as a motivator to try my hardest to do well in school and become knowledge so one day, perhaps I will be on the team that cures the disease.
I hope to enjoy my stay here and make some new friends!
