The beautiful little girl in the photo is Brittney. Brittney was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on January 31st, 2005, just 2 days before her 11th birthday. As we all sat and watched Brittney eating her little sliver of birthday cake while her friends indulged on a plate full of cake and ice cream, we realized just how much this news would change her life as we all knew it.
Brittney went through her diabetes training with the magnificent staff at the Stollery Hospital in Edmonton. During her time there, not once did she ask why this had to happened to her, or complain about getting her insulin injections. Coming from a girl who was terrified of needles prior to this, to a girl who now gets 3 needles a day, plus the countless number of finger pokes, is pretty significant. In addition to her diabetes, Brittney was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in March 2006. Being the picky eater that she is, this new diagnosis looked like it might be a bit challenging. But Brittney took this news in stride. She is now eating new foods that she would have avoided a few months ago because they taste “funny”, and is proficient in reading all of her food labels for carbohydrates and ingredients that she has to avoid.
I asked Brittney one day if she missed being able to go to the store with her cousin, and pick out a treat like she use to. She shrugged and said, “Not really”. This brought tears to my eyes as I realized just how strong and resilient this little girl is.
This is Brittney’s story. She is truly an inspiration to us. We are amazed by the wealth of knowledge that she has about diabetes and Celiac Disease and how quickly she has had to grow up. But most of all, her bravery.
She is our little “Diabrittic” hero.