We spoke with Sequilla who is 17, lives in Victoria BC, and has had T1D since she was 2½ years old. Sequilla was featured in a recent newspaper story when she was told by a BC Transit driver on the way home from school to put her fruit away after her glucose monitor started beeping indicating her blood sugar had dropped.
“I embrace my Diabetes and tell most of my friends about it. At the same time, I want to be seen as a normal teenager and not a medical condition.
“Diabetes is only one part of me, it is only one piece of my billion-piece puzzle.”
“I have a Dexcom G5 CGM and a Medtronic 630g Mini Med pump. I use Novo Rapid insulin.
“I share my data with Mom and Dad so they don’t worry when I am at school or working my part-time job. We have WIFI in both places so I am constantly connected.
“I also share my data with certain teachers so they don’t constantly ask me about my glucose levels. This is particularly helpful on field trips.
“I have been taking more control of my treatment for several years. I check in with my nurses regularly and mostly manage myself.
I like CGM data sharing because no one has to ask how I am doing. It keeps conversations more normal.
“If I could wave a magic wand, the first thing I would do is fix my pancreas. My second choice would be to improve people’s education about Type 1 Diabetes.
“Everyone knows about cancer but I always get weird looks when people see my pump or CGM. Diabetes is awkward anyway. It would be great if more people knew about Type 1 Diabetes. ‘No, I did not eat too much candy when I was young. What I have is not Type 2 Diabetes.’”
“The bus driver was just doing his job and part of that job was enforcing a ‘No Eating’ rule. He didn’t know that it’s risky to ignore a low when you have Type 1 Diabetes. I wish he had more awareness and better training.”
