Welcome to the no-insulin zone

Hi! My name is Henry Samson. I am currently 23 years old and finishing school at Saint Louis University. About a year and half ago I started getting sick and eventually learned that I was a type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes, or commonly known as juvenile diabetes, occurs when any person's pancreas stops producing insulin. Type 1 is also referred to as insulin dependent diabetes. Simply, because my pancreas does not produce insulin, I cannot absorb any sugars (glucose etc.) from my blood stream into my cells for nutrition.

Stinks, doesn't it?

This was a huge shock to me. There I was, a perfectly healthy (apparently not), athletic 21 year old guy who loved to eat, drink, party, and play ultimate frisbee and now laying in a hospital bed on March 12th, 2008 completely shocked. My mom was a wreck, I didn't know what to think, and my life seemed to come to a very large fork in the road.

I wasn't worried about dying, but I was trying to come to terms with the fact that my everyday life was going to be completely different. I was now a chronic illness that before I could casually think I would never be. I was now a part of the Liberty Mutual diabetes commercials that I used to make fun of so much.

So here I am today, blogging my journey through a Walgreens pharmacy-dependent lifestyle. I want this blog to not only serve my needs as a outlet for sharing and learning more about my diabetes. But I also want to be a resource for any young person who just recently learned that he or she is diabetic; or any family member concerned about a recent diabetes diagnosis. I hope to not only share my insights on the gift of my diabetes, but use this blog as a tool for a healthy lifestyle and a resource for my family anyone interested to learn more about the gift of diabetes.

Gift? Yes. How so? Just follow me into the no-insulin zone.