By AIDAN KING/Contributor
It was just going to be another ordinary week at Sherman High School for Amanda Wiggins, but things started to get weird. As she reached the top of the stairs to get to a class, she was completely out of breath. At tennis practice, she started having trouble seeing clearly. In the middle of the day, she was so fatigued she could barely keep her eyes open. Something was off.
She had long, lingering headaches. She was always thirsty, no matter how much she drank. Her heart rate elevated to the point she had a constant nervous feeling.
Why was happening? What could possibly cause all of this?
She visited an eye doctor. The doctor did not know what was causing the sudden impairment of her vision. She returned to school still feeling bad and battling symptoms. Then, she suddenly started losing her sense of taste.
“Ah, there it is,” her mother surmised. “A valid reason for all of this.”
Her mother was convinced that COVID was the problem. But it wasn’t. The next day at school, Amanda walked up three flights of stairs, but it felt like 300. By the time she reached the top, all she saw was black and she was exhausted. She went to the school nurse who tested her blood pressure and temperature. Everything was normal. The nurse sent her back to class with a peppermint and no answers.
THE DIAGNOSIS
After school, her mom took her to a doctor who tested her blood sugar. It was so high it went past what the machine could read. The doctor sent her to a hospital for more tests. Amanda finally got the answer she was looking for. She had Type 1 diabetes.
“But I’m not overweight,” Amanda recalls thinking to herself.
She was scared and confused.
“I knew nothing about diabetes, and I’ve never had any health problems before, especially something this big, because it’s for the rest of your life,” she said. “You can’t cure it. I went from nothing ever being wrong to having this thing where I have to live with it forever and keep up with it multiple times a day.”
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin, which makes it challenging to balance blood sugar. This is very dangerous condition when undiagnosed. The good news is that once diagnosed doctors know how to treat it. The bad news is that it can only be treated. There is no true cure.
“About 352,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes,” according to the American Diabetes Association.
THE TENNIS CLUB
After graduating from high school, Amanda enrolled in UT Tyler and took back up her passion of playing tennis. She founded and serves as president of the university’s tennis club, which competes with recreational teams from other colleges.
On this afternoon, members of the club and prospective members are arriving at the tennis courts for practice.
It doesn’t matter if it is someone’s first time coming to the club or if they have been coming since the club formed, Amanda ecstatically greets each one.
“She’s the best,” says team member Abby Willis, who attended high school with Amanda. “She’s so nice to everyone, and she’s always smiling. I think she’s the perfect person to be president. She makes everyone feel welcome and comfortable, and her personality is so fun to be around.”
Clark Gunn, the club’s vice president, is thankful Amanda founded the club so members can continue playing a sport they love and get to know others with a common interest.
“This club allows me to continue playing my favorite sport three times a week and to hang out with a lot of cool people,” Clark says. “I’m super thankful for this club.”
Amanda doesn’t let diabetes stop her from playing tennis. At a tennis tournament in Dallas, Amanda stops her warm up to deal with her health.
“One second, I need to eat something really quick to keep my blood pressure up,” she tells Samantha West, her doubles partner.
“Wait, why do you have to do that?” says Samantha.
“I’m diabetic,” says Amanda.
Samantha responds, “I didn’t know you had diabetes.”
Amanda replies, “Yeah, it’s not something I usually share with people, not because it bothers me. I don’t care if people know, I just never really think about it.”
SUPPORT SYSTEM
“Amanda, you need to eat something,” her boyfriend Jackson Dominick says. The image of his face is on the corner of her cell phone. He is on FaceTime. The ringing is a notification on an app that tracks Amanda’s blood sugar.
When her blood sugar drops, it notifies her so she can take care of it by eating. The app allows others to sign in with their own phone. Jackson helps keep Amanda accountable and is always there to remind her to eat when her blood sugar is low or take a shot when it is high.
Amanda never knows when the warning notification will go off. As she gets out of her car to take part in tennis club practice, the warning sounds. She must stop what she’s doing and deal with the problem. Her friend Mya Alday knows what is happening.
“You go play,” Mya tells her. “I’ll go get you something from the vending machine. Don’t worry about it.”
DEALING WITH ADVERSITY
When asked, “If you were given infinite wishes, how many wishes would you choose before you got to the wish of removing your diabetes?” Amanda tilts her head and smiles.
“This might sound weird, but honestly, I wouldn’t get rid of it,” she replies. “No, I don’t think I would. It can be annoying sometimes, but going through this has given me the path I want to take.”
She credits having diabetes with her decision to pursue nursing. She realizes that diabetes has affected her life in positive ways.
“It has taught me a lot, and it keeps me humble,” Amanda continues. “It sounds weird, but without diabetes, I would have no problems in my life.”
Pressed whether she believes that having adversity and challenges to overcome every day is important to her, she does not hesitate to answer.
“I do. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.”
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