Yes he’s running for senator in Texas, but I think his story of how he became a T1 is interesting.
When I was 28 years old, I almost died.
I was running in my first race for the Texas House. I decided to walk the entire length of my district — 25 miles in one day — holding town halls along the way. I wasn’t worried — I hike Big Bend every year!
But about halfway through, I started feeling nauseous and fatigued. I threw up a couple of times on the way, but figured I was just dehydrated. Somehow, I finished.
When I got home, I slept for 36 hours. My family rushed me to the ER, where nurses checked my blood sugar. I was immediately diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was in diabetic ketoacidosis, which ends in coma and death without insulin.
When I got out of the ICU, I went to Walgreens to pick up my first 30-day supply of insulin. It cost me $684 for a necessary medicine that costs Big Pharma $10 to produce. I didn’t have that kind of money (most Texans don’t, either) — so I put it on my credit card.
This is why so many people with diabetes ration or skip doses. Some of them die because of it.
So when I got elected, I passed bills to cap the price of insulin at $25 a month.
I omitted the usual fund raising. I think his sudden onset of T1 and DKA is classic.