WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT

MEET CONOR MCKENNA

My name is Conor McKenna. I am a 19-year-old sophomore rugby player at The Ohio State University, and I am a Type-1 Diabetic.
I was diagnosed two weeks before I turned three, and can’t remember life without an insulin pump.

Extra Responsibilities as a T1D Athlete:

Being a T1D athlete, we have more regular concerns and responsibilities than just showing up to practice on time. I have to make sure my blood sugar is steady and at an appropriate level before every match and practice. I have to allocate (seemingly) half of my bag to keeping glucose tabs and low supplies, extra insulin, spare insets, spare sensors, a spare meter in case the sensors don’t work, spare lancets, and test strips for that meter, (etc.). You get the idea. This plethora of supplies is what keeps us diabetics alive.

For Someone that Doesn’t Understand:

Living with Type-1 Diabetes is like wearing a leash. Most times, the leash is slacked and diabetics can hang out with friends, go to parties, everything that any “normal” person can do. However, every day there will be times that this “leash” yanks you back momentarily. Maybe you can’t eat straight away because you have to administer some insulin first. Or maybe you have to quickly take a break from your sports practice to eat some glucose tablets to raise up low blood sugar (I know this happens all too frequently with me). When your diabetes is perfectly managed, you may barely even notice the metaphorical leash, but it’s always there.

Friends

All of my life, I have been blessed to be around incredibly caring and devoted friends. I feel like these people, who are knowledgeable about my diabetes, seemingly care about my condition more than I do at times. If they hear my pump’s low blood sugar beep, it seems like there is an instant reaction from them (and this is something that I cannot express enough gratitude to them for).

Having lived with T1D for 17 years, I probably have a more relaxed approach to treating those episodes than they do. If my sensor beeps “low blood sugar” just once, I know I am immediately met with concern: “Do you need sugar?”, “Can I get you something?”, or my buddy Chase’s signature exclamation: “CONOR! DRINK A DAMN JUICE BOX!” (Chase has a very boisterous voice and effective tone).

To some, this might sound silly, but my friends have LITERALLY saved my life on several occasions. Over January and February this year, within just two weeks apart, my three roommates had to deal with two hypoglycemia-induced seizures. This means that my blood sugar was dangerously low, which limits brain function, causing a seizure.

They acted with such alertness and dexterity, that I know I may not be alive right now had it not been for their quick action. Adam held me down to prevent me from falling off of my top bunk bed and injuring myself, while Jack knew to grab the Glucagon and how to administer it, and while this happened, Cam had already called 911 and was on the phone with my mother telling her everything. To those three boys, and any parent, friend, or anyone else who has had to provide help during a diabetic episode: Thank You. Thank you for knowing what to do, and thank you for having the ability to make informed decisions. These actions save lives. I promise you. It’s crucial that people learn about the signs of both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia because more people need to be prepared to step up and act in circumstances as I’ve described. You never know when something like this can happen, so the best defense is to ALWAYS be looking out and be prepared.

It’s the same methodology as knowing the signs of strokes and what to do when one occurs. In many circumstances with T1D deaths, it’s preventable. It just takes individuals acting properly and knowing the signs and what to do. While every diabetic is different, I personally deal with more low blood sugar episodes (hyperglycemia) than high blood sugar episodes (hyperglycemia). And while one may be more common, this does not deter the fact that all people need to know the tell-tale signs of both, and how to help out in both situations. In extreme cases, the diabetic will be effectively incapacitated and relies on help from someone else to treat it.

Similarly, every diabetic will show different symptoms. For example, when my blood sugar goes very low, I get: shaky, hungry, pale, weak, and anxious, and I become confused/have trouble speaking. Whereas high blood sugar makes me: thirsty, and irritable, it causes stomach aches/nausea, and frequent urination. This is what I experience, but each diabetic is different. However it does not diminish the importance of needing to know all of the signs, and what to do in each scenario.

WHAT TO DO

Low Blood Sugar (hypoglycemia)

In my opinion, of the two, I feel that hypoglycemia is easier to recognize and treat than its counterpart. If you recognize a diabetic suddenly becoming confused and speaking unclearly, this could be a sign that they need sugar. To treat them, they need to consume sugar. This can be juice boxes, regular soda (not diet/sugar-free), glucose tablets, candy, or any other easy-to-consume carbohydrate. Ideally, you want to give about 16-20 grams of carbs, but in dire situations just use your judgment, the exact number doesn’t matter that much at the time

High Blood Sugar (hyperglycemia)

A common misconception, that I’m sure a lot of diabetics can relate to, is that the cure for everything is to just get more insulin. Everyone associates the word “diabetes” with “insulin”. And while this is a fair assumption, it’s not quite the truth. Some people, when they’re not properly educated on the matter, may misconstrue that low blood sugar requires more insulin to be given. I’ve heard this countless times when people first find out that I have T1D. “Oh so you can’t eat sugar or stuff right”, “Do you just need insulin?”, questions like this cannot be faulted, it just means that we need to better educate everyone.

To answer the first question, we can eat whatever anyone else can eat, we just need to properly administer a dosage of insulin to correct for the food. To answer the second: sometimes we need additional insulin, if food was under corrected, or blood sugar is running high, then we need insulin and to drink fluids. When blood sugar is low, more insulin will cause more problems. In these scenarios, we need something with carbs or sugar to help raise the blood sugar back to normal.

Mental Health With T1D

I don’t feel that mental health gets enough recognition, especially for chronic, incurable illnesses like Type-1.

I feel like this isn’t a topic that I’ve really ever spoken openly about, probably because I’ve never wanted diabetes to be that thing holding me back. However, I do wanna quickly take this opportunity to speak about mental health, because every diabetic has days that just SUCK. And I’ve had those days, and so I know much frustration that diabetes can cause. So I’m not sure to any T1Ds who may be reading this, but you’re doing great. It’s not easy always but you just gotta try to keep a positive outlook as much as you can. Find the people that make you happiest and most excited, and spend more time with those individuals.

Stay tuned for more Type-1 Warrior Spotlights!

If you’d like to share your TD1 story with us , email Shannon at contact@gavingill.org

TYPE-1 WARRIORS