Anita's Story

November 12th, 1998 I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. And I was so lost! See, when I was growing up, the only diabetes you heard about on the news was Type 2 Diabetes so to be diagnosed with this disease that I actually knew and heard NOTHING about was the first step I had to overcome! During my first year of living with this disease was when I encountered, what I guess would be called, the worst of the problems. After about 6 months of living with this disease I was diagnosed with diabetic nerve damage that eventually cost me the ability to walk for about a year! All the complications of this "new disease" had me having to find a love and respect of not just this disease but for life in general. And it was a battle because in my high school, I was the only T1D there. I was dealing with so much mentally and physically on my body I'd dropped down from just under 100 pounds at diagnoses to about 78 after living with this disease for over 6 months!

But I kept going! I HAD to. Yes, while in college I had those negative and dark thoughts of no longer wanting to be here because of everything I was going through but I continued. There were a few quotes I always kept on my wall from my Mother and my auntie (my Mom's twin). But my favorite ones were the following:

"A Woman is like a tea bag. You'll never know how strong she is until you get her in hot water"

"A Positive Attitude Equals a Positive Outcome"

These quotes somehow made living with this disease easier because something told me I was meant to have this disease because I was strong enough to deal with it; accept it and even come to love it and carry it with a sense of pride!

So now we will fast-forward a few years and I am trying to get my A1C's under tight control while working in a few high stress full-time positions and that was NOT working out! Although I went from an A1c of about 27 when I was diagnosed, the lowest I was able to reach was 13! Which was still not good. I ended up dealing with a thyroid disease and many failed pregnancies due to not being able to get my A1C's any lower! But I am so stubborn I just refused to give up.

I am sure many of you are thinking how can I or how have I managed to stay so positive even after dealing with so much. Well, for me, that encouragement came from the loss of my mother (2011) and my twin brother (2012). These two were my rock. My strenght and losing them after I was dealing with T1D showed me that NOTHING is promised so it is in my best interest to DO something with this life I am still so blessed to have.

Now I ventured into acting back in late 2009/early 2010 and in 2013, I decided to make sure the world knew I was a Type One Diabetic actress. I was approved for an insulin pump (Omnipod) and since then, everything has been so positive! My A1C's have come down to 6.5 and my thyroid disease is gone! And one of the biggest accomplishments is when I see that just by changing my outlook on this disease, I have been called an inspiration to many others!

Now, I am FAR from finished with what I plan on accomplishing but I KNOW I am now on the right path! And I can not help but feel that I owe a big thank you to T1D! It has taught me strength, it has taught me respect, it has taught me love and it has taught me pride. I know many may not see Type One Diabetes this way but I do. And for that, I am grateful!

Being a T1 Dia-Bad-Ass is such a privilege and an honor!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4039028/

Anita Nicole Brown