Melissa Jeffries ignored her disease for years, indulging in an unhealthy diet and suffering from seizures and comas. A new relationship finally motivated her to get her diabetes under control.
Jeffries loved candy, and for 14 years it had no side effects on her. The first day of the year, in 1986, Jeffries failed a physical when she tried to join the swim team and was sent to the hospital. By then she had type 1 diabetes.
Jeffries was given a lot of diabetic precautions, numerous finger prick tests and insulin injections. As her treatment period ended, her sugar cravings were gone, her blood sugar was under control, and she thought diabetes wasn’t a big deal. But she soon discovered that was not the case.
Four months after her diagnosis, Jeffries was hospitalized again, this time for a hypoglycemic episode that put her in a coma. She continued to have hypoglycemic episodes because she was trying to pretend to be a “normal” teenager and ignore her diabetes. She also tried to live like a “normal” college student, but her roommates soon became aware of her hypoglycemic episodes.
Jeffries continued this self-loathing until she grew into adulthood and established a new relationship, which gave her a new perspective on diabetes. As the relationship heated up, her boyfriend discovered that Jeffries had hypoglycemia and saw how much she let the disease go. Each time she faced an episode of hypoglycemia, her boyfriend wanted Jeffries to make a change. Seeing the pain she was causing him, Jeffries eventually realized how selfish she had been all these years. Although the decision to make a change was a little late, she was determined to get her condition under control, and the most important decision was to use an insulin pump. jeffries had resisted in the past because she didn’t want to have anything on her body to remind her that she had diabetes. There was no question that she needed to let go of that idea.
With the insulin pump, Jeffries’ disease is well under control. Now there is no need for syringes, she can eat any food she wants, and she can sleep in on weekends. The biggest benefit, however, is no more episodes of hypoglycemia and his boyfriend is less anxious. Anyone who sees Jeffries always with a donut next to her doesn’t think she’s diabetic; in fact, she’s just finally come to terms with the disease and is being treated aggressively.