Jonathan’s Story

Hi everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read! My name is Jonathan Tijerina and this is a bit of my story:

I was diagnosed after returning from a family trip to Guatemala in 2004. I'd had pretty classic symptoms for several months (looking like a twig, chugging orange juice in the middle of the night, etc.), but I'm from a very rural area in East Texas originally and we didn't know what to look out for or generally even go to doctors unless we thought something was very wrong. So when I started throwing up after we got back from Central America,  we went to our local physician for what we assumed was a tropical stomach bug of some sort - he smelled my breath, nurse poked my finger, and viola, diabetes.

Although, I think we all know how difficult diabetes can make everyday life, in many ways I believe that having diabetes has pushed me to accomplish a lot of the things I've had the pleasure of getting to do. The easiest way to motivate me to really strive for success in something is to say "you can't do it", and so, in a way, I've been trying to prove diabetes wrong since 2004 by fighting to accomplish all the things I want to and not letting that diagnosis hold me back.

I started running in high school, partly because I was too gangly and uncoordinated to do football and partly because my dad was a runner and I wanted to run faster than him. This hobby eventually turned into a real passion for me, helped pay for my college and to this day gives me a peace that nothing else seems to. I struggled with controlling my glucose on runs which ranged from a 4:05mile best to long slow 20+ milers, and this challenge really pushed me to explore the technology and resources available to diabetics. I got on the Dexcom (still one of the best decisions I've ever made) and started to really plan out snacks and monitor my sugar during training, which translated to much better control in other areas of my life.

Having been a patient dealing with a chronic disease that affects you every minute of every day has definitely given me a perspective and empathy for patients that I wish more doctors could experience. It's easy to see if someone's A1c is too high; it's very difficult to see the underlying stress and fear and frustration that can often accompany a chronic illness like diabetes. So, in that way, being diabetic has  pushed me to become a better physician and I'm so grateful that I get to talk with and encourage other diabetics in the hospital regardless which service I work with.

My mom was a country gospel singer when I was younger and has always encouraged me to pursue the arts. I especially enjoy writing, playing guitar/ singing and sketching. In many ways, having diabetes and dealing with it's highs and lows (haha, had to do it) gives me inspiration for art- and art gives me an outlet to vent frustrations and express happiness in small victories I have with diabetes. I am currently writing a novel as my capstone project for medical school which I hope will be able to capture some of those emotions.

So all in all, I think that having a challenge and experiencing adversity, via diabetes or otherwise, has pushed me to grow and strive harder to do the things I've always wanted to do, in spite of a diagnosis. I hope that you all feel the same!

Thank you!

JT