SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) -Diabetes kills someone in America every three minutes; a sobering figure, especially if you're the parent of a child diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes.
Kelsy and Carly Symonds are twins and share everything, including a potentially deadly disease. When they were diagnosed with Juvenile diabetes their mother Debbie says it wasn't easy.
“It just kind of takes over your life for awhile." The tools that keep Kelsy and Carly Symonds alive include insulin monitors, finger stick kits and insulin. The same medical equipment used for those with Type 2 Diabetes. Debbie says a lot of people don’t understand the difference. "There is a lot of misconception about Type 1 Diabetes and a lot of confusion for a lot of people with Type 2 which is really a completely different disease."
Both diseases create a need to regulate blood sugar. Unlike Type 2, lifestyle changes won't help those who have Type 1.
"Type one diabetics make no insulin, it's an autoimmune disease all of their cells have died, and exercise doesn't work for them." So the twins are left to monitor several times a day, and work to stay healthy. Carly says "When you are low you just start to like trip over anything even if it's a flat surface you start to feel you can shake." But the twins say most of the time people don't know they are ill.
"It doesn't affect you on the outside but it does affect us on the inside when our blood sugar is too high that has a really bad effect on our heart."
The Symonds look forward to a day when there is a cure. They believe that day is near. To find out more about how you can help with research and what ABC 4 is doing to aid in research look for Safari For a Cure information on this website.
Original story here: Twins battle potentially deadly disease together
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