My name is Haidar Youssef Hachem and this is a story
all about how my life got twist, turned upside down!
What’s Your Excuse?
glucose levels were stable enough to function and I
Now you may think I am coming off as extremely
body would not go into a state of shock. But being a
had to also take insulin shots twice a day just so my
obnoxious after reading the title of my article; but I
kid and never really fully understanding the levity of
want you to keep that question in the back of your
the situation, I acted out and ate whatever I wanted.
head as I paint you a picture of the life I’ve lived.
I would eat cakes and junk food and all the sugary
Growing up I had it a lot different than most
kids I knew. At the age of two I was diagnosed
with Type 1 Diabetes, which was highly unusual
in my case because I am the only person in my
snacks I could get my hands on. I really don’t know
why I did it; I guess it just gave me a sense of feeling
“normal.”
There was one place though where I could always
family to have been diagnosed with this disease.
go to and always feel at ease. It was my diabetes
As you can imagine, being a child growing up with
camp that was hosted every summer. It was a sleep
diabetes would be difficult. At birthday parties or
away camp where you got to sleep in actual log
celebrations I couldn’t really indulge and eat cake
cabins, learn how to manage your blood sugars and
or candy or any sugary treats and
just have an all around good time with a group of
get that sugar rush that most
kids I knew always did; I
1
kids that were diabetic just as you were. During my
times at this camp I actually had my first crush. Her
had to constantly check my
name was Natalia, she was older than I was, but
blood sugars to make sure my
I didn’t care, I really liked her and she knew that.