A diabetes diagnosis will be life-altering. 

But it doesn't have to be life-shattering. 

This is my story. The story of how I learned to conquer the beast that lives inside of me despite the struggles and obstacles, the needles and finger-sticks, the desperation and disappointment. A story of how I (and my parents) managed my type I diabetes since I was diagnosed at the age of seventeen months; how my father and mother first encountered the dragon--how it nearly killed me. It's a story of hope and encouragement: a tale of normalcy when "normal" might seem like a foreign word to a newly diagnosed diabetic or parents watching their child struggle to fit in while carrying the burden of the beast. 

And most of all, it's a story of persistence. The story of a simple boy who grew into a determined young man and never stopped chasing his dreams despite the dragon roaring inside him.