By Cooper Pierce
“This is a life-long condition, and I can’t get rid of it,” she said.
The years go by, and they get older, yet one thing stays the same.
Multiple students deal with different chronic issues, starting when they are young and lasting their whole lives.
Ryen Hargis, who made the above statement, is a senior who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes four years ago.
In February 2021, Ryen got up to go get something from her kitchen. When she stood up, Ryen began to faint, hitting her head on the wall.
Her family took her to the hospital. After multiple tests, the results came back that she could be diabetic.
Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic condition in which her pancreas does not produce enough insulin. Without insulin, her body cannot regulate her blood sugar and break down food properly.
Because of this, Ryen must give herself insulin through daily injections and take medicine every time she eats something. Her diabetes now doesn’t bother her as much as it used to, but it’s still an inconvenience.
“It’s just an extra step to do,” Ryen explained about her condition. However, she also thinks that “it opens your eyes to be more healthy.”
Another way Ryen regulates her diabetes is with a Dexcom monitor. This device, attached to her arm, reads her blood sugar levels and sends the readings to her phone.
The Dexcom makes checking her blood sugar much more convenient. It eliminates the need for manual finger pricks, making it easier to ensure that her blood sugar is within the needed range.
While she doesn’t know how her diabetes will affect her in the future, her doctors told her that her health could be severely damaged if she was out of her range too often. So, not wanting to risk anything, she tries to be as healthy as possible.
Currently, Ryen visits Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for treatment, where she meets with a nurse every three months and her doctor every six months.
Since her diagnosis, Ryen has been appreciative of how patient her friends and family have been with her. To adapt to her, they have learned her limits and even how to help her in case of emergencies.
As well as Ryen, other students at Delta have also been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This includes sophomore Danika Keller (pictured at the top of the page), who was diagnosed last year during spring break.
Like Ryen, Danika also has a Dexcom. Her device works by giving her a basal rate, or continuous supply of insulin, to regulate her glucose while she’s not eating.
Much of her life is affected in the same way as Ryen’s. She must give herself insulin every day and wait to eat. She also has to watch what foods she eats, which means avoiding many foods full of carbs and sugars, such as rice and pasta.
Last year, when Danika started becoming so thirsty that she was drinking water non-stop, she realized something was wrong. Her family took her to the doctor, and eventually to Riley, where she was diagnosed with Diabetes. She returns for visits with her doctor every few months.
Despite all the hardships, Danika’s friends and family have never diminished their support for her. She says they’ve stuck by her side through everything.
Danika also uses her faith to lift herself up. Whenever she feels down, Danika decides to read the Bible and pray.
Her favorite verse is Matthew 6:34: “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 2018, there has been a 2% increase in new diagnoses per year. Type 1 diabetes has become more common in younger people.
Although diabetes is becoming more common, there are still other students with lesser-known conditions. One of these students is sophomore Josey Morris, who is allergic to most things outside.
Her allergies include grass, pollen, cotton, cottonwood, multiple types of trees, coffee, and animals with fur. Josey plays golf in the fall and does track in the spring, so having these allergies can make it especially hard for her as she spends a lot of time outside.
Josey has known about her allergies since she was little. She says that managing them has become one of her biggest problems. To keep them under control, she takes a daily allergy pill and uses nasal sprays to clear her nose and prevent nosebleeds.
While the allergy pills and nasal sprays help, there are more effective ways of limiting her allergic reactions. The most powerful way would be to visit an allergist for weekly shots, which, Josey says, basically make her immune. However, since she is under 18 and due to the time commitment, Josey can’t go every week right now, but she plans to when she’s older.
Josey gets these allergies from her dad, Paul Morris, who she says is allergic to all the same stuff she is except for coffee and fur. Having her dad experience the same things as her has been helpful when she needs support.
“I can talk to him about everything, and he can give me advice,” Josey said.
Being a genetic condition, Josey is fearful that she will pass it on to her children in the future. To help her own kids and anyone else with difficult allergies learn to deal with them, Josey plans to become an immunologist or an allergist when she’s older.
Like Ryen and Danika, Josey has moments where she feels down and discouraged because of her allergies. However, that’s nothing that she can’t handle. She constantly tells herself that she’s alright and that she can get through it.
“I’ve had times when I can’t go to golf or I can’t go to track because I can’t breathe,” Josey said. “So, getting over that is just being able to work through it and take care of myself so that I’m in the best condition I can be.”
