Sheridan’s Story

When I was 12 years old, my life changed forever when my pancreas decided to stop working. Weeks of losing weight without reason, trying to manage an unquenchable thirst, having to use the bathroom every 5 minutes, and being constantly fatigued were finally explained with just a tiny finger prick. When I first got my A1c tested, it was off the charts (literally). The doctors slid the paper towards me to show me where my numbers should be, and pointed to the end of the table past the chart and said: “and that’s where YOU are.” After that day in August of 2016, I decided that Type 1 Diabetes was not going to control my life. I wasn’t going to let it define me, and I certainly wasn’t going to let it keep me from achieving my dreams.

As part of an avid soccer family, my first question to doctors was, “Will I still be able to play soccer?” Looking back, I was asking that question already knowing that I wasn’t going to accept any answer but yes. Through almost 8 years of finger pricks, pump changes, chugging gatorades, and highs and lows, Type 1 Diabetes has shown me that I am so much stronger than I realize. I never considered that this disease would hold me back—not from competing in the highest collegiate level of soccer, attending an academically-rigorous university, or from serving as a role model to other young soccer players who have been diagnosed with this disease. When I look back to that day in August of 2016, back to the face of a young girl who had just received a life-changing diagnosis, I am filled with neither sadness nor pity. Rather, I feel a sense of gratitude that the universe decided to throw something so incredibly difficult at me, because it knew that I could handle it with strength and grace.

Sheridan Brummett