# The story of James Talaricoand Type 1 **URL:** \ **Category:** Type 1 & LADA\ **Tags:** insulin, dka\ **Created:** [October 6, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/the-story-of-james-talaricoand-type-1/16415 "2026-10-06T22:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CarlosLuis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/carlosluis/32/11389_2.png) [@CarlosLuis](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/CarlosLuis)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/the-story-of-james-talaricoand-type-1/16415/1 "2026-10-06T22:40:13Z")
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. ![IMG_2958](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/f/fce526154c489b60816f92634cd01cf5e4a3b417.jpeg) I omitted the usual fund raising. I think his sudden onset of T1 and DKA is classic.