A new program is asking those without diabetes to experience a day in the life of someone who does.
Diabetes Awareness Month was kicked off THursday with a challenge in the hope of instilling empathy for those who battle the disease.
"Every day you have to check your blood sugar. You basically, you prick your fingers anywhere from four to eight times a day to tell your monitor or your pump if you have one what your blood sugar is," Chip Nelson, type 1 diabetic says.
Nelson was 19 when he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. His life now revolves around his diabetes.
"I check it when I first get up in the morning. I'll check it again sometime mid-morning, depending on what I'm doing. I have to check it before I eat lunch. I'll check it sometime this afternoon before I go on a walk. Diet and exercise are very important. I'll check it before I eat dinner. And then I'll check it in the evening about an hour before I go to bed," Nelson says.
As part of Type 1 Diabetes Day the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has launched it's T1D For a Day text challenge. Those who sign up will receive text messages for a 24-hour period that simulate the constant blood sugar testing, insulin injections, and food choices those living with type one diabetes face every day.
Kristy Wilkerson, JDRF Panhandle Branch Manager, says this is beneficial to the many people who don't understand what those who have diabetes go through.
"Because a lot of people don't understand. When our daughter was diagnosed, I told her she could take a pill. She was in college, I said 'it's okay. You could take a pill. My step dad takes a pill.' And then when we went to see Dr. Usala, we found out no, he very quickly showed her how to do her first injection right there," Wilkerson says.
