My name is Mindy, and I have type-1 diabetes. I am an Army Veteran, and a Registered Nurse. I graduated from University of Colorado with my Bachelors degree of Science in Nursing. I joined the Army shortly after graduating high school in 1995. I was stationed in Germany and was deployed to Bosnia in the following year. Unfortunately, I became very ill while I was out there and had to be taken to the hospital. I had appendicitis and pancreatitis at the same time. The first time I was hospitalized, I spent three months connected to IV therapy, and was not able to eat or drink anything. I would be getting my nutrition thru an IV called total parental nutrition.

I had pancreatitis for almost ten years and multiple surgeries to include a Puestow, a Whipple, and a Pancreatectomy. I also had to have my appendix and gallbladder removed because the infection spread like wildfire to other parts of my body. These procedures were done to try and correct the pancreatitis, but unfortunately the only surgical procedure that fixed my pancreatitis was having my pancreas taken out (pancreatectomy).

This is why I say I am not your typical diabetic. I was not born with this disease, but somehow it manifested its way into becoming a Diabetic. I was told by someone that I was "pancreas challenged" which is a very funny way of thinking about becoming a Diabetic. If I think about it most diabetics are challenged in their every day life. I became an insulin dependent diabetic when I had my pancreas taken out in 2004. I never realized that having diabetes would change my whole life. Some things became better, and some were not. It forced me to calm down and think about what I was putting into my body. Now I am forced to plan ahead of time if I want to travel, or if I am working long shifts such as 12.5 hours long.