Show your support: it’s National Diabetes Awareness Month

A bag containing important items that are important to have for those who have diabetes
A bag containing important items that are important to have for those who have diabetes
Rebekah Bushmire

The month of November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. Each year, there is a theme that goes along with spreading awareness for diabetes. This year’s theme is centered around prevention

In the US, Diabetes affects around 37.3 million people, with one in ten people having the chronic disease. There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2 and gestational.

Type 1 diabetes affects a person’s ability to make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is not genetically inherited and is typically caused by an autoimmune response. Type 2 diabetes also compromises the body’s use of insulin and it can be genetically inherited. It is often characterized by insulin resistance, which is the body’s altered response to insulin.

So one of the things that is interesting about insulin [is] if you have type one, you need insulin in order to survive. But if you take too much insulin, it can be deadly. And the difference in what you need and what would be deadly is a very small amount.”

— Stephanie Sisk

The third type of diabetes is known as gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is caused when the body struggles to make insulin during pregnancy. This type of diabetes occurs in around two to ten percent of pregnancies. After pregnancy, the diabetes could resolve, but there is also a chance that it will not. If the diabetes does not resolve after delivery it is classified as Type 2 diabetes. 

The role of insulin in the body is to keep blood glucose (sugar) levels stable and to aid cells in getting sugar for energy. When insulin production is affected or the body begins to respond differently to insulin, there is a risk of elevated blood sugar levels. Stephanie Sisk, an AP Biology teacher and the mother of a child with Type 1 diabetes, was willing to expand on the impacts of fluctuating blood sugar levels on the body. 

“I would say the important thing to know about [diabetes] is that the blood sugar does fluctuate a lot. So irritability is one of the symptoms of high blood sugar and low blood sugar,” Sisk said.

High blood sugar levels can also lead to a host of other health issues such as vision loss, kidney disease and heart disease. Wearing blue is one way to show some support for National Diabetes Awareness Month, but there are also other ways to show support and spread awareness as well.

Diabetics usually carry “free” snacks, ketostix, glucagon, insulin pens and other item with them for when they need it (Rebekah Bushmire)

“So I would say two things. One is just to be sensitive to the fact that someone else has something else going on,” Sisk said. “And I would say don’t offer unsolicited advice, but educate yourself.” 

Diabetes can be help be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, staying active and having a healthy diet. For those with diabetes, it can be managed by making healthy choices and taking insulin for those who may need it. 

“I would say the most important things are knowing the warning signs so you can actually recognize it in somebody else and then being sensitive to the fact that it causes fluctuation in your mood and the way that you feel on an hourly basis,” Sisk said.

To learn more about diabetes, visit the CDC or WHO websites.   

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About the Contributors
Nyla Kërr, Staff
Nyla Kërr is spending her first year on the McIntosh Trail staff for the 23-24 school year. She has always been passionate about writing and has been honing her craft for the past five years. Kërr received the President’s Award for Educational Excellence and competed in and won a speech and debate competition at both the school and county levels. Now, her top priority is surviving this school year and further developing her personal writing skills through journalism. Outside of school, she enjoys drawing, hanging out with friends and fighting to learn how to ride her low-quality, fixer-upper skateboard. The skateboard wins most days.
Rebekah Bushmire, Editor-in-Chief
Rebekah Bushmire has been on The Trail staff for four years and will be serving as the editor-in-chief for the 2023-2024 school year, as well as the managing editor for the Legend Yearbook, a program she has been a part of for four years. Bushmire worked at City Hall as an intern in the Public Communications Department over the summer. She has been serving as a Student Press Law Center New Voices Georgia Student Leader for two years. She is in Quill and Scroll, the International Honor Society for high school journalists and the NSPA Honor Roll. Bushmire will have served two years as GSPA Student Ambassador come graduation. She has been awarded an All-Georgia Feature Photograph, Superior Social Media Breaking News, Superior Social Media Promotion, Superior Feature/Entertainment Photograph, Superior Portrait Photograph and Superior House Editorials from the GSPA award program. Bushmire is also the co-president for the International Thespian Society, an honor program for high school theatre students along with having been nominated for the Governor's Honors Program in the Theatre category. She has either worked as a tech crew or performed in eight McIntosh shows. In her free time, Bushmire enjoys hanging out with her friends, sleeping or watching a good show. She loves cows and everything cow print. A fun fact is Bushmire hates scary movies and refuses to watch them. Post-graduation, Bushmire plans on staying local for college and working while in school.
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