Lindi's Story

In February of 1985, 10 days after her third birthday, Lindi was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. For her and her family, their very existence was turned upside down, and literally every activity, meal and daily schedule would need to be perfectly orchestrated in accordance with her new diet plan and injection schedule. “My entire life has been a balancing act of food, timing, stress, activity, insulin and the very delicate calculations and combinations of these variables that either keep my blood sugar in a normal, healthy range, or orbit it into a dangerously high or frighteningly low range,” she said.

Now 30 years after her diagnosis, Lindi has to prick her finger eight to 10 times a day to check her blood sugar. She was on six injections of insulin per day, until college, when she transitioned to the insulin pump, which is a pager-sized device that houses three days’ worth of insulin and administers it in tiny increments all day long.

“As an adult living with type 1 diabetes, I face a whole new collection of challenges,” Lindi said,” including managing blood sugars on the job, disclosing my ‘disability’ to employers and colleagues, being a safe driver, being alone during times of the day when my blood sugars tend to dip dangerously low, even planning to start a family and eventually enduring the incredible effort that my husband, my medical team and I undertook to have a safe, healthy and successful pregnancy.”