Jake's Story

I Knew something was wrong When I started Peeing six times a night

It was 2015, and I had just started my first year at Eastern Illinois University. But something was definitely wrong, and it wasn't my nerves. I couldn't stop drinking water and peeing. And I quickly lost 15 pounds. When Halloween came around, my doctor told me my blood sugar was so high it didn't even register on the glucometer. After rushing to the hospital, the diagnosis was clear: Type I diabetes.

It quickly settled in that this was permanent, and everything was going to have to change.  I learned how to carb count give insulin shots and how to balance my blood sugar and insulin levels when working out.

I'm a huge sports fan, and with time to kill in the hospital over the fall, I set to work on my fantasy football lineup. But then I started wondering whether any athletes still compete after getting diagnosed with T1d - and was I surprised to read how many people have not let T1d stop them from competing at the highest level. Even more inspiring, many of these athletes continue their work off the field to support T1d.

Fast forward to today. About a year after my diagnosis, I know more about Type 1 than I ever wanted to. I'm using the pump and CGM (although I am not very good about wearing it). I volunteer at JDRF Illinois doing whatever they would like me to do along with working a summer job. I'll be starting at Waubonsee Community College so I can stay close to my endocrinologist and get my blood sugar under control.

And all the while I keep meeting and finding T1ds who are doing more than I ever imagined anyone could do with the disease. They are musicians, politicians, athletes, actors, artists - you name it - and they have not let T1d stop them from achieving their dreams. All the while, they go through the same struggle we type 1 diabetics go through every day.

They are T1d's just like me.  

If someone asked me a year ago what my goal in life was I would have quickly said work in sports. That still may happen. But today I've put up this site to collect stories of T1d success and build a community to inspire and empower anyone who's T1d.

Jake Kaufman

DANIEL'S STORY

Daniel Mcgarry and Jake Kaufman have known each other since they were little league teammates at a very young age.  They were also diagnosed with T1D almost 1 year apart. Daniel helps run T1dlikeme with Jake and they are the hosts of the t1dwithme podcast that will be linked to this website shortly.

December 2nd 2014, for most people it was just a normal day, for me it was a beginning of a new life.  High, Lows, counting carbs, checking blood sugar, and everything in-between.  At first my doctors weren’t sure if it was type 2 or type 1.  After blood work was done it was clear I was a type 1 diabetic at the age of 16.  Those few nights were the worst of my life, sleeping in a pediatric bed, while I was 6” 2’ and 200 pounds.   Once I got home, my new life was beginning, no doctors watching me give myself shots, it was all on me from here on out or at least I thought.  6 months after my diagnosis, I learned how to use a insulin pump.  To this day that little guy is my most prized possession, it made my diabetes seem more like a normal lifestyle.  A normal lifestyle was what I needed, I was a senior on my volleyball team at my high school, and still playing baseball with my closet friends.  Remember when I said earlier that it was all on me for my healthy, that could not being further from the truth.  My friends and family are always there when i'm having a rough diabetic day.  This disease of course sucks to have, but with a good support group and awesome doctors we have around the world, I’m sure we’ll make type one into type none.

Jake came to me with this idea not too long ago.  I off course said yes, I think this idea and website is going to be great for both of us because we’re both type one diabetics and love sports.  I cannot wait to see what we can do with this, and I’m excited for our future together running this website and podcast.

Daniel Mcgarry