María's Story

My story with diabetes is not the usual one, because I was not the first one to get it in my family… My two oldest sisters Denise (42) and Carolina (40) also have diabetes, but they got diagnosed when they were 3 and 6 years old respectively.

Back in 2007 I started feeling the symptoms, I was loosing weight and super thirsty but nobody thought it would be diabetes. My mom thought I was skinny because this was at the end of track season and that year I competed a lot. It was also summer and hot, so we thought it was normal to be thirsty. Luckily, my sister Carolina realized these symptoms could be diabetes and measured my blood sugar at my house. When the meter showed 300 mg/dL, my sister started screaming and called my parents. At that moment I didn’t realized how big of a deal that number was, but when I got to the hospital I realized it was "no bueno". My family was really sad, but I was thrilled to finally be like my two sisters.…. That feeling didn’t last that long, because I realized I needed to take so many responsibilities and my childhood years of freedom were somehow over.

I continued to train and compete in middle school without any problems, because it was more recreational by then. In high school though, I started training at a higher level (6 times a week) and had some problems with low blood sugar. I remember having to sit on the track for half an hour just to eat and wait until my blood sugar was okay to continue training. It took me a while to figure out the best snacks and dosis for training, but I was able to do it because my coach was very patient with me. It also helped that my doctor used to be an athlete and she understood the track and field language. When I got the insulin pump and continuos glucose monitor things got much better. Now I don’t get that many lows while training or highs when competing!

Overall, diabetes has not been an obstacle to train and compete at a high level for me. I’m the chilean high school 100 meter record holder and I have represented my country multiple times at Southamerican championships as well as two World Championships. Having diabetes is just one more responsibility for me as an athlete, but I believe it has shaped into the person I am today. This diseased made me more responsible, mature, organized and patient. All these values helped me become a better athlete and person.

María Ignacia Montt