Landry's Story: My Life With Type 1 Diabetes

Hi. My name is Landry Murphy.

I’m a teenage girl with a lot of hopes and dreams, but with a lot of desires comes big responsibilities. One responsibility that I did not get to “choose” is being a Type 1 diabetic. I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic and a patient of Dr. Paul Thornton at Cook Children's for over eight years now.

My day-to-day life is different than the lives of many others, but I’ve chosen to embrace my differences. Type 1 diabetes is NOT a setback. Dealing with my illness has made me realize that everyone is dealing with a battle we all know nothing about.

Type 1 has helped me be more aware of others and just to be kind when kindness might not be the first resort.

I still am very active in sports, hanging out with my friends, studying at school, and spending time with my amazing family.

My day-to-day life includes many finger pricks, insulin shots, and carb counting. I’m constantly looking at food as just a number. There are often many ups and downs in a single day including being frustrated or irritated due to a high blood sugar or even dazed and confused from a low.

These emotional swings can take a toll, especially at school. Luckily, I have a fantastic team of nurses who help me combat these issues while I am at school. It was more difficult when I was younger because I wasn’t as self- sufficient and needed to rely on one of my parents or a nurse 24/7.

My parents didn’t hold me back from going to birthday parties or even sleepovers, but it was tougher on all of us because nighttime is extremely dangerous. Therefore, my mom and I would have to devise plans to keep my life somewhat regular as a child but still be cautious of my situation.

This often called for some midnight or even 1 a.m. pickups by my parents from sleepovers. Through the years, I have generated an amazing group of friends who are always there to support me. Most recently, I have established some great friendships with some other “Type Ones” … Some people who finally understand what day-to-day life is like for me (and them too).

I don’t look at my disease as a burden but I will say that having someone with whom I relate was and still is a key factor in coping with my case scenario. When I was diagnosed, my world stopped and I did not think that was possible at such a young age.

At the time I was diagnosed, I was really into the Jonas Brothers, and it just so happened that Nick Jonas has Type 1 as well. Knowing this about Nick brought me a lot of comfort because he did not let diabetes stop him.

His ability to still perform and live a normal life while working with his condition in the background is still so inspiring to me.

If you only take one thing from this, I want you to know that you are not alone. With each passing day, it will become easier as you learn more and more about yourself. I have chosen to speak out because this disease does NOT define us.