A normal kid with type 1 diabetes

Learning to test your blood sugar, give yourself an insulin shot, or count carbohydrates isn’t average curriculum for a first grader. But it’s been standard protocol for 17-year-old La Cañada High School senior Remy De Brauwere since she and her family learned the then-6-year-old had type 1 diabetes.

Remy credits her supportive family, helpful physician and the knowledgeable staff at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles with keeping her on track for a healthy life, despite the autoimmune disease that destroyed insulin producing beta cells in her pancreas.

“The diabetes changed my life, but I’m glad it happened at the age it did, because I wouldn’t want to have to change my whole lifestyle and begin this regime at my age,” she said. “Most kids my age drink sugared soda and do things that you’d hate to have to give up. It’s pretty natural for me to live this way now.”

Type 1 diabetes is the disease formerly known as childhood or juvenile diabetes. It can affect adults; however, many adults have been misdiagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes because there was a misconception that Type 1 diabetes only was contracted by children.

The primary difference in the two is that Type 1 diabetes destroys insulin producing cells, while many Type 2 diabetics are able to produce insulin internally and have some degree of insulin resistance. That’s why diet and exercise help reverse or prevent Type 2 diabetes; whereas, there is no preventive measure that can be taken against Type 1 diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health website.

The disease affects people who are otherwise healthy and of average weight when the onset occurs, but weight loss can occur rapidly if not diagnosed in a relatively short amount of time, according to the American Diabetes Assn. website.

That’s what happened with Remy. She began losing weight, feeling thirsty all the time, tired, and sick, she said.

She also developed breath that her mom, Cindy DeBrauwere described as “like the smell of sugary fingernail polish.”

The symptoms escalated when the then-6-year-old attended a friend’s birthday party. “I was really thirsty, so I kept drinking juice. I didn’t realize the sugar in the juice was making it worse. So, I got really sick and started throwing up. I was so embarrassed and I didn’t have any fun at that party,” Remy said.