I was diagnosed at age 17 with type 1 diabetes. I am the only one in my entire family with this lovely disease. I have struggled with depression and anxiety most of my life and it has gotten worse the older I get. Finding my love for fitness has saved my sanity. I feel at home in the gym and love throwing some weights around. My kids are my everything and often carry the best wisdom. My diabetes has been a struggle for YEARS. literally 15 out of the last 18 years I have had the disease I did not care. I have been in and out of the hospital with DKA more than I care to admit. My struggles have become my fuel to power through to a healthier me. I know what I have done wrong, I’ve accepted my past and now acknowledge that diabetes is as much an emotional disease as a physical one.