Kaylee Dancing

After being identified as having Type 1 diabetes at age nine, Kaylee refuses to give up party although the condition helps it be tougher

Pulling her insulin pump out from the woman waistband, freshman Kaylee West monitors her blood sugar levels range between courses, among the numerous things she should do due to having Type 1 diabetes.

Kind 1 diabetes, generally known as insulin-dependent diabetes, is an incurable condition which results from pancreas failing to producing insulin. Kaylee was identified whenever she ended up being nine.

Professionals believe Type 1 diabetes has three causes: genetics, self-allergy, usually referred to as autoimmunity and a virus or chemical. Kaylee ended up being identified four weeks after having hand, foot-and-mouth disease, an illness that causes rashes on one’s hands and feet and sores in the lips.

Kaylee’s mother, Lori West, said doctors believed hand, foot-and-mouth condition caused Kaylee to contract Type 1 diabetes.

“Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, which means that your body has actually assaulted your pancreas and killed what’s labeled as the islet cells, ” Lori stated. “if they look at exactly what young ones have gotten diabetic issues, obtained had some kind of virus prior to it. Therefore, she had the hand, foot [and] lips infection. Your body’s gathering all those antibiotics to battle off that virus. Well, [when] the virus is gone, it strikes some other part of your body. For Type 1 diabetic patients, it attacked the pancreas plus it simply stops making insulin; your body’s killed it.”

At tournaments, I Must take my pump down, and that tends to make your blood sugars get large.”

— freshman Kaylee Western

As a result of having Type 1 diabetes, Kaylee is supposed to test the woman blood sugar levels seven times daily using the woman pump to make sure that it's in range, alongside bolusing, or typing into the wide range of carbs you want to consume to your pump such that it may determine just how many units of insulin to provide you with.

“Checking my bloodstream is more difficult to do during courses, and [so is] bolusing before lunch, ” Kaylee stated. “Every time you eat, you have to provide yourself the insulin for just how many carbs you’re going to consume.”

When checking her bloodstream, Kaylee’s personal range is between 70 units and 140 products. But wanting to hold her blood sugar levels in range is one of the many obstacles that comes with having kind 1 diabetes, as going above range can result in vomiting and going below range has actually drawbacks as well.

“when you're also low, like, below 70, you start experiencing actually poor and also you feel like you’re only planning to pass out. My entire body begins to shake, plus it’s just like having a mini seizure, which’s because you don’t have sufficient sugar, ” Kaylee stated. “You either need certainly to eat some carbs without dosing, or, in the event that you get small, you must offer yourself an attempt within the leg and it’s filled with sugar.”

Although working with kind 1 diabetes is demanding, it will not end Kaylee from dancing outside college, although doing this provides challenges of the very own.

“Exercise makes your bloodstream sugars drop, ” Kaylee stated. “At competitions, I have to simply take my pump off, and therefore makes your bloodstream sugars get high. Sometimes, I don’t feel great at party for awhile or at competitions ‘cause you have your pump off for way too long. Therefore, then chances are you need put your pump-back on, look at your blood and do several corrections to have it back off.”

Alongside existing difficulties which impact Kaylee dance, Lori stated more obstacles could are presented in the long term because of the high quantities of sugar in Kaylee’s body. This extra sugar could result in the bloodstream inside her eyes popping, resulting in Kaylee going blind. Being prevent this, the health practitioners perform a test labeled as the A1C test. This test checks the individuals bloodstream to tell what their particular normal blood sugar levels has-been over a period of time.

“Well [her A1C is] allowed to be [at a] 7. [She is at] 15.6; she ended up being [more than] double. They said she’s gonna lose her vision. Your kidneys can begin closing down, ” Lori stated. “They’ve already been astonished with how large the girl blood sugars happen that she doesn’t have actually vision issues however.”

Whilst having Type 1 diabetes makes athletics harder and may provide challenges as time goes on, it's never ended Kaylee from taking part in sports.

“I’ve done like almost every other recreation, but I’ve constantly went back to dance, ” Kaylee stated. “we threw in the towel soccer and track, but, then, before that I I did so basketball [and] volleyball and I also liked it, but dance ended up being my very first priority. I won’t ever give-up party. I anticipate probably college for party, too.”