Life With Diabetes
From Sean's keynote address at U.C.I.'s grand opening of Joslin Diabetes Center

 I'm here today to touch the hearts and souls of those present about the many victims of diabetes. I want my words to be their words. I want to touch the emotions of everyone that has gathered here today to celebrate the arrival of the renowned Joslin Diabetes center. I want to let my feelings outwardly flow of what diabetes means to me. But in order to do this one must live my life in my shoes.

Now I am going to attempt to bring you into my life. I grew up the past 19 of my 20 years taking much of my life for granted. I had perfect health, was great at sports, and had good grades. The only thing I had ever struggled with was procrastinating on my homework or trying to make my pimples disappear. Life was just fine and dandy. I had many friends and a great social life. Since growing up I have been raised in a world of sports and I have always wanted to represent my country in the Olympics and be a role model. About 7 years ago I fell in love with snowboarding and was completely obsessed with the sport. Then my older brother passed away and I found the mountains my best escape for the stresses of school and my emotions. It was up at 7 thousand feet that I was able to find peace as well as establish a better closeness to God and my brother. As I

began to compete I dedicated all of my small achievements to my brother...competing in all aspects of the sport from riding halfpipe to racing gates. But there was nothing like the "need for speed" and the adrenaline I got from racing down an icy course through the gates. My senior year I made the decision to compete at the professional level and competed against athletes that had been involved in the sport for almost as long as I had been alive. Seen as the "rookie" then and still today due to my age, I went to train in British Columbia. This past year I have been living and training in Steamboat, Colorado with the Winter Sports Club. In this western ski town called Steamboat we have a season that is called "mud season." Mud season is during the early spring when all the snow is melting and wreaking muddy havoc on the city and its occupants. After mud season comes spring with green meadows and a variety of brightly colored wild flowers. This is one of my favorite times because it means taking a few weeks break from my intensive training. I was looking forward to this past year's spring and to the stories I might tell my children someday of record breaking rainbow trout -- caught in the Yampa River. However these events have to wait till next year. After finishing up a successful snow season at the Canadian National Championships I became very ill. I had had many on and off symptoms of sickness throughout the season and would just contribute it to either some food I ate or catching the flu from some of my teammates. Then I began to notice that within 2 hours of every meal I was very nauseated and would end up vomiting or spending a good amount of time next to a trash can. It got to the point that I became afraid to eat. Well as you probably guessed I didn't have the flu and I was finally admitted into the hospital for nine days. After the loss of over 23 pounds and a bad case of pneumonia caused from all the vomiting, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I returned to California and it was here at UCI where I met the magic of Dr. Ping Wang. He introduced me to the world of insulin injections and the life long supply of syringes and test strips I would be requiring.

 
"And now this is how the new story of my life begins." To be honest, until I was diagnosed I did not understand the disease. I have found that this disease is willing to be my "best friend" if I choose to continue to take care of myself. Sure the risks of complications are there, but I believe you can't sit around and discontinue a normal life. If I stop doing the things that I love, then I have let the disease defeat me and have chosen to distance myself from this "friend" that won't leave me alone till a cure is found. Like an uninvited party guest, diabetes can invite itself into the healthiest of bodies -- any age, gender, and nationality. I realize that I was given this disease for a reason and that reason is to "spread a message of awareness." Every victim of diabetes is my hero. I owe it to all of them as well as to my family to remain positive and show everyone that anything is possible despite having this new best friend. But diabetes is not always a friendly disease. It can be seen in many of my emotions. I have and do face depression from this disease. I sometimes cry and am sometimes angry. I have cried in public and at parties. It is a disease that can throw many curve balls in both physical and emotional forms. Diabetes has tried very hard to stop me from "being an athlete", it will continue to do that, but it will "never win." This friend that will remain with me for the rest of my life until a cure is found is not going to determine how I live my life. I will follow my goals and dreams. This winter I will learn how to interact closely with my diabetes and everyday will be a new learning experience. On my days of bad blood glucose readings I will not hang my head in defeat but will look forward to the challenges of achieving great control. I will inject my insulin and test my blood sugars in public and not hide or be embarrassed. Diabetes isn't who I am but is only a part of me, which makes me "unique." Diabetes is a selfish friend that can turn anyone's life into a whirlwind. It doesn't care about the 4 year old who now must have a life long commitment to insulin shots and finger pricks. Nor does it care for the high school teen that has to test his blood levels in the middle of his first date. For the children and adults that sit on the sideline waiting for their blood levels to reach a safe range during a sports game in order to resume activity, I am right there along with you. When I am racing through the gates this winter I will never forget you. My mud season will soon come to an end and I will be living the spring that I had desired. I wish you all the best of luck and my prayers. From the start, through the gates, and all the way to the finish line, I won't let diabetes beat me. Riding, on Insulin.