25.8 million Americans wake up and have to check something most people never even think about: their blood sugar. These millions of Americans are affected by diabetes, a disease in which the body does not make enough insulin to support itself.

Diabetes is a complex, hidden disease; it’s hard to distinguish who has it, but its effects can be detrimental. It is easy to identify people with skin conditions, the flu, and some forms of cancer, but Diabetes’ symptoms are completely internal. With immense medical progress, diabetics are better able to lead normal, healthy lifestyles.

There are four different types of diabetes (Type One, Type Two, Prediabetes, and Gestational), and each of them have different causes and treatments. Therefore, each type requires a different lifestyle.

Type One, previously named juvenile diabetes, is one of the most well known, thanks to events like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) walk. Melanie Ross, senior, is a Type One diabetic. No one in Ross’ family has Type One, so it came as a surprise to her whole family when she was diagnosed. The average blood sugar for a non-diabetic is between 80 to 120, according to Ross, and once when she was admitted to the hospital her blood sugar was 670. As of this past December, she has had diabetes for half of her life.

When were you diagnosed?

“I was nine years old. My fourth grade teacher actually called my house and told my parents that I was going to the bathroom a lot and kept asking to go get a drink of water. My parents took me to the doctor and I found out I was diabetic. In fourth grade I would just ask to go to the bathroom just because I was bored. So when [my teacher called] I thought, ‘oh, well it’ll all be fine.’ I was not expecting anything serious. When they catch it early, it’s called the honeymoon stage, and that’s what I was in. My pancreas was still making insulin, it just wasn’t making as much as it needed, so I wasn’t having to take as much insulin. My pancreas stopped making insulin around middle school.”

How did your parents react when you were diagnosed?

“Neither of my parents really knew much about [diabetes]. [They did research], and we went to a bunch of classes on it. The classes were about general knowledge of diabetes and what to do if something goes wrong.”

How did your lifestyle change?

“When I first found out I was kind of embarrassed and I didn’t even tell some of my friends. [I decided to tell them later] because I just realized it’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life, and it’s really not that embarrassing.”

What is your everyday process?

“I usually have to check my blood sugar about six or seven times a day. And then if it’s high, I have to take insulin, and if it’s too low I have to eat carbs. I usually eat crackers, like peanut butter crackers.”

Have you had any scary experiences?

“[One of my scariest experiences] was when my blood sugar was too low and I went into a seizure. It’s happened a couple of times, but they’re in the middle of the night, which is obviously when I can’t feel when it’s low. My parents came into my room because I guess I was screaming and saying a bunch of things. I was unconscious.”

How often do you see a doctor?

“I see an endocrinologist every three months. What they do is they take some of my blood, and it’s called an A1C test, and that’s the average of what your blood sugar has been for the past three months. It takes about ten minutes [for the results].”

How often do you take insulin?

“I usually take insulin based on how many carbs I’ve eaten. I usually have a pretty good estimate of how many carbs I eat. It’s taken a lot of practice.”

What equipment do you have?

“I have a continual monitor, and there’s an attachment right here [pointing to her side], and what it does is it measures my blood sugar, and every five minutes it produces a new reading, but in order for the reading to stay accurate, I have to calibrate with finger pricks. It’s been pretty accurate. I actually got it after my second seizure because in the middle of the night you have no idea of what could go wrong, so an alarm goes off if [my blood sugar] is too high or too low.”