The events of September 11, 2001 changed the way everyone saw the world around them, and Kristen Saul will never forget that date and what happened 11 days later. September 22, 2001- the exact day that she found out that her life would never be the same. At the time, six year old Kristen did not know how having type 1 diabetes would truly affect her life, other than a serious sugar crash that happened months earlier. It must have been extremely scary for a five year old to be hallucinating, incoherent and unresponsive to her parents. Type 1 diabetes is most often found in children and teens but it can show up at any age. Kristen’s parents were told what exactly was going on with Kristen that day.
“Type 1 diabetes is when the pancreas produces too little insulin or none at all. I need to take insulin when I eat or when my sugar is too high to replace what the body does naturally. I also need juice or food when my sugar is low,” explains Saul.
A strict diet is not the only thing that changes to compensate diabetes; a constant exercise plan must be put in place to help prevent heart attack and stroke. And if blood sugar is too high or low, symptoms can include vomiting, stomach pain, headaches, weakness, or fainting. Trying to control your own body when it seems to be working against itself is hard enough, but what makes balancing your sugar levels even harder to do is the odd lunch schedules of North Penn.
The traditional way to test your blood sugar is but taking a small blood sample with a glucose meter and taking out a needle and giving yourself a shot of insulin. But it would be a little awkward if Kristen pulled out a needle every time her sugar levels were out of balance, so to compensate she carries around a purse.
“In my purse is my insulin pump. I wear it so there is a smaller chance my pump will be hit by someone in the hallway” said Saul.
When a purse is too bulky for an event, her insulin pump can also be put into a cell phone case and attached to her side or can be taken out altogether. Insulin helps lower someone’s blood sugar by causing it to leave the bloodstream and enter cells. Her insulin pump manually pumps insulin constantly, but as Kristen said, she still does have to check it from time to time.
Kristen has chosen to pursue her interests even though they cause controlling her own body a very difficult task. She is a devoted cello player in the school’s orchestra and a soprano in the chorus. Even though both activities include long rehearsal and concert hours, where checking her blood sugar is not an option, it is what Kristen loves to do. Kristen also adores reading, especially the Harry Potter series, over and over. She is passionate about animals and enjoys taking care of her dog Sadie, and hopes to work with animals or children someday.
Even though diabetes can be a hard disease to live with, Kristen has shown that just because your life circumstances are not the best, they do not have to have the last word and you can still do what you love.