Name: Jessica Cringle
Diabetes type : 1
Age: 19
Well that's me in the picture, i'm the one on the left, although everyone got me and my twin sister mixed up when we were that age, we'd do everything together, we had the same hobbies, the same interests, we were hardly ever apart.
It was around the time we were both eight years old, Liv had been taken into hospital because she'd been really ill and hadn't been able to come into school, i was so worried about her i even cried in school because i was on my own and hoped she was okay. It turned out she had a condition called diabetes, and obviously it was all new to me, i had no idea what it was, or how it was affecting her, and for those first few months it felt so weird, we didn't feel like twins anymore, i ate differently to her, if i wanted sweets i had to eat them in a different room, my parents were suddenly more attentive with her, and i didn't like it, i felt like i wasn't her twin anymore.
But then i started to get ill, i was so thirsty and tired all the time and i wasn't in school for several weeks, my mum knew it was the same thing so she decided to test my blood using Liv's monitor, when it came back as high blood, my mum instantly told me that i had diabetes as well as Liv. Obviously assuming id be scared and worried, my mum had a look of anticipation in her face, fear that i was going to break down at any moment, but instead, i lept up off the couch, burst out of the room and out into the street where Liv was playing with some friends, and i shouted at the top of my voice "Liv! I''m going to be diabetic too!"
I had no idea how much of an impact it would have on my life, but i didn't care at that moment, i had my twin back.
As the years have gone by i can understand now how it came for me to be diagnosed around the same time as her, and to be honest, i think its better this way. Me and her have been able to stay just as close for this long, thanks to our diabetes, its scary at times as we've both witnessed each other having diabetic fits and even going into hospital, but we're always keeping an eye on each other and i think the team work we constantly have reminds us how important looking after our diabetes really is.
