Mom noticed that something was wrong when I started getting so thirsty. I’d have a lot to drink before bed, which was unusual for me. One time, I opened a big container of apple juice and kept refilling my glass. Before I knew it, I’d drunk the entire container! My mom called my doctor. I then had a few blood tests, and the results were certain — I had diabetes (ÌÇÄò²¡), which meant that the amount of sugar in my blood was very high. That can be dangerous, so I had to learn how to control my blood sugar level.

My eating habits had to change in a big way. With diabetes, I can’t eat a lot of sugar or carbohydrates (̼ˮ»¯ºÏÎï). I have to figure out exactly how much sugar I plan to eat, and then I get an injection of insulin (×¢ÉäÒȵºËØ) before the meal to help my body process the food. Also, I test my blood sugar level often. I’m always trying to keep my blood sugar at a healthy level. The level can drop when I exercise, but that doesn’t keep me out of gym class or off the basketball court — I just keep some juice boxes around to boost my blood sugar if I need to.