hours b4 falling into & fully awakening from a 5 day coma🫠—————————————————- Day 1️⃣ of BetesVember💉💙 This month, I vowed to share the unspoken side of living with diabetes. From the life awakening moments to the battles I fought in silence. This was one of those times. The night after my high school graduation, I went into a diabetic coma. Like any other kid, I just wanted to celebrate the end of a 12-year bid. But living with type 1 diabetes meant that I had more responsibilities than others. It required me to check my blood sugar every couple hours, read nutrition labels for everything I ate, calculate insulin amounts, & constantly make decisions about things that most my age didn’t have to think twice about. My classmates celebrated the whole week leading up to graduation with no care in the world. And I want to, too. So I did🤭 That week, I disconnected my insulin pump (reconnected each time I got back home) and lived the life I wished I could. While I looked fine on the outside & was managing to keep my sugars relatively low for dka, I was still silently fighting for my life. I went into EDKA (euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis) which is a form of DKA caused by low amounts of insulin & can occur even when blood sugar levels aren’t dangerously high. Before I knew it, graduation had come & gone. An academic accomplishment/ milestone I had worked so hard for, yet had no recollection of it. Although I was only unconscious for 5 days, my body went through a battle most could never imagine. What happened in those 5 days left me with permanent damage & a reminder that surviving doesn’t always mean escaping unscathed. This is why diabetes is more than eating right & staying active. It’s making difficult decisions every day, even when all u want is to live, celebrate, & enjoy life without having to think about your health. I share this because I hope my story reminds someone that illness doesn’t always have a look. Sometimes, the sickest person is wearing the biggest smile🤍 #betesvember #t1d #dka #diabetesawareness #diabetescommunity - @nichole_b04