An impact that changed a senior’s Life

Allie Hanson, Staff Writer

At just the age of 13, senior Jaquan Mitchell’s life changed forever.  Mitchell was diagnosed with type one diabetes.

“[I was] a little in shock, didn’t know what diabetes was at the time,” he said. Mitchell said that the time he was diagnosed, he was devastated because it’s a lifelong disease.

“I had to take care of it so it didn’t overtake me. I went through a stage thinking that I still wanted to be normal, where I didn’t have to take insulin or any shots,” he said. “I just wanted to be like a regular kid.”

Once Mitchell got an insulin pump, he said he had relief because it was easier to manage with.  He has the ability to hide the pump better.

“I was first on the insulin syringes so I took shots and it was four times a day. Then doctor said I needed to start taking care of myself and to get an insulin pump. It seemed like a good idea,” he said. “I decided to go with it, give it a try. I like it a lot.”

Mitchell said that he’s not scared to have diabetes, but he doesn’t want everyone to know that he has diabetes.

“Some struggles I’ve gone through is checking my blood around certain people. It takes some time. I have to stop and check it,” he said. Mitchell although said that some people mistake it for an old mp3 player.

“One time, I did have a kid that thought it was an mp3 player. He pulled it and it came out of my skin,” he said. Mitchell said that there is scar tissue around his body from the pump.

“I broke a pump one time. But, I got it replaced. I was playing and I fell on it. During football season I don’t go on the pump, [because] it can get ripped out,” Mitchell said. He explained that he would rather have a pump though, instead of the insulin shots.

“The pump definitely makes life a lot easier with diabetes.”