12 year-old talks about living with diabetes

Twelve-year old Bostyn Pearson of Fairfield, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 6, spoke to Montana State University-Northern nursing students Tuesday  about her condition.

During her presentation, Bostyn, who is visiting schools as part of a school assignment, showed off the insulin pump that was clipped to her dress and had an IV running into her stomach.

"All day long, it's giving a little bit of a drip," Misti Pearson, Bostyn's mother, said.

When people hear of diabetes, they are usually thinking of type 2, Misti Pearson said.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time when someone says they have diabetes, it's type 2," Misti Pearson told students before Bostyn spoke. "Type 1 is one of the most misdiagnosed diseases."

Mayoclinic.org says type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone needed to allow sugar - glucose - to enter cells to produce energy. The more common type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't make enough insulin.

Misti Pearson said that before Bostyn was diagnosed, she was getting uncharacteristically tired. For instance, when she was playing tag, she'd drag her feet. One day she was too tired to participate in a bicycle parade after she'd already decorated her bicycle.

"That was unlike her," Misti Pearson said. "What 5-year-old is too tired to go on a bike parade?"

Another indicator was when Bostyn's grandmother noticed how thin Bostyn was. A doctor checkup revealed that Bostyn hadn't gained a single pound, Misti Pearson said.

The most glaring sign was frequent bathroom visits and accidents. In one 30-mile trip, Misti Pearson said, Bostyn had to use the bathroom three times.

"It was just off. It was weird," Misti Pearson said, adding that the accidents were "the main flag."

They scheduled a doctor visit. A nurse practitioner in Idaho - where the Pearsons were living at the time - found that Bostyn's urine was full of sugar and started the process the led to the type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

Misti Pearson listed common symptoms of type 1 diabetes, including increased thirst and hunger, heavy breathing, fatigue, nausea, frequent urination. She said someone does not have to experience every one of the symptoms. For instance, Bostyn never had trouble breathing.

Bostyn told students of the arduous daily steps she takes to stay alive.

"It's a lot of work with no cure," Bostyn said.

She set a bag on the table. It had a glucose monitor, a book about counting carbs, an insulin pen, Laffy Taffys, juice and suckers. For longer trips, Bostyn said, there is a bigger bag, with extra needles and such.

Before every meal, Bostyn, said, she checks her glucose level, counts carbohydrates and calculates insulin level.

The family has had six years to adjust to the disease, Misti Pearson said, but with puberty coming up and the hormonal changes, there's no telling what adjustments will be needed and what they will go through to make them.

"It'll be unpredictable," Misti Pearson said.