Living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) isn’t easy. It takes discipline, vigilance, and perseverance. Even when you’re nine years old.
“Your pancreas doesn’t work anymore, so you have to put insulin in your body,” 4th grader Morgan Kahl said. “You have to take shots.”
Morgan, an aspiring soccer player, was diagnosed two years ago.
“It came out of nowhere,” Morgan’s mother, Anne, said. “We have no family history (of T1D). We were overwhelmed. It’s scary because everything changes.”
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Living with T1D means ensuring healthy blood sugar levels. Levels that run too high can cause irreparable damage to the body. Blood sugar levels that run too low can mean going into hypoglycemic shock. Blood sugars can dip at any time, even in the middle of the night.
“It’s like a newborn getting up all the time, except it’s a life or death situation,” Anne explained.
In order to treat her T1D, Morgan wears a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) on one arm and an insulin delivery device on her other arm.
“I have these devices, they put insulin in me and the other checks my blood sugar,” Morgan said.
The family credits the work at JDRF and JDRF Wisconsin for raising money to research how to live with T1D. The ultimate goal: a cure.
“We’re in a good spot with these (T1D) devices,” Anne said. “JDRF has made managing it a whole lot easier than even 5 to 10 years ago. The work they are doing, and the research is pretty amazing.”
The future looks bright for Morgan.
