Diabetics Doing A Healthy Journey To Self Love with Sarah Hannon

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast, where we explore the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics around the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, Diabetics Doing Things founder and 11-year type 1 diabetic. Help raise awareness for diabetics doing things by sharing this with your diabetic friends. We're also on Facebook and Instagram. Tag a type 1 friend today. This week's guest is Sarah Hannon, 22-year-old college student and 13-year type 1 diabetic. We talk about the challenges associated with making major life changes with diabetes, accepting that it's your diabetes as a teen, and the importance of loving yourself throughout the diabetic journey. Here, our special guest today is Sarah Hannon. Welcome. Hi. How are you today? Thanks again for coming on the show. um and Sarah I know you're uh you're in school currently at uh Coastal Carolina University

[00:00:55] Sarah Hannon: yes sir um I'm really good you know I'm just kind of a rainy day here in South Carolina but you know plugging through your final so trying to get that done too yeah rounding up to the end of

[00:01:07] Rob Howe: the semester uh small world kind of fun fact I actually follow Coastal Carolina's athletic athletic performance uh instagram accounts ccu performance so like big okay big shout out to them they're just like a funny uh kind of like workout inspiration account that i somehow followed

[00:01:24] Sarah Hannon: about a year ago i guess i don't know yeah they they all their instagram accounts are kind of funny they they get a kick out of that kind of stuff so it's interesting to follow them all and kind of track what's going on on campus seems like a pretty fun place yeah they definitely they know how to hang out and have fun but we get it done too at the same time so that's good

[00:01:44] Rob Howe: Great. So, Sarah, you and I were just talking a minute ago. Tell us a little bit about your diabetic story.

[00:01:51] Sarah Hannon: So I was diagnosed on May 25th, 2003. I was nine years old. It was actually two months before my 10th birthday. And my parents had recently gotten divorced. So it was already a tense time in my household, just dealing with the whole divorce and being a young kid and that kind of thing and this getting thrown into the whole mix. I was having some female problems and for a nine-year-old that's not normal and so my parents decided to take me to the closest physician and turns out doing blood work that I was type 1 diabetic and it was the most devastating news for me because I was terrified needles. I was the kid that you had to hold down to do any kind of shots when you get the kid shots. So then with that, they immediately told me to go to Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. because my parents are from Maryland. And it was a really tense time as far as having both my parents in the same room and having to be polite with each other because they didn't get along at all. And so having them in the same room and trying to deal with this tension and the divorce tension on top of it was, was a lot to deal with. And, you know, just kind of coping with the whole new changes of everything and how this is going to affect the rest of our lives and that kind of

[00:03:24] Rob Howe: thing. Well, and I think, um, you know, for our non-diabetic listeners and family members or friends, I think, especially when you're diagnosed as a young kid, really everyone in the family gets diabetes. Um, so I think that's a good insight really that, you know, you're not the only one affected. Um, you know, everybody's there in the hospital and it's just another thing for everyone to think about. Um, but I also want to focus on what you mentioned about being afraid of needles. How did you, how did you approach that? What was your, do you remember what your response was like, uh, when you found out you were going to have to get shots multiple times a day?

[00:04:02] Sarah Hannon: um to add to the whole family thing um I specifically remember my my grandparents had to stay with my brothers I have two older brothers and my grandparents had to stay with them while I was in the hospital and my dad told me that my brothers were at each other's throats the entire time and I and it was because the tension that was going on with everything with the diabetes with the divorce with you know it affected everybody in our house like nobody understood what it was but they knew it was going to be life-changing and they had to cope with it and figure out what was the next step. So that was, I mean, it's life changing. So it was a big step for everybody in the family. So that, yeah. As far as the needle thing, I remember specifically my dad, he's always been that it was my diabetes that I, he wasn't going to be the one giving my shots because he wasn't always going to be around. I was going to grow up and I was going to be a teenager or a young adult and I was going to have to do it for myself. So I remember specifically sitting on the toilet when I was first diagnosed. I think it was a day after I got out of the hospital and I was crying on the toilet. And I was like, I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this. And he was like, you have to do it. And he wouldn't let me leave the bathroom until I did it. And it was just tough love at that time. And I hated him for making me do it because, I mean, I was conquering one of my biggest fears at the time, but I had to, it wasn't a choice.

[00:05:23] Rob Howe: And I think that's, I mean, that story is, is really powerful. Um, but also I think at some point, every diabetic, whether it's easy, some, I think for some people it's easier, it's easier to set in than for others, then that like, you really do have to do this, or you won't, you won't be healthy, or you won't, you know, you saying the term, I think everybody always is like, well, I either do this, or I die, and that's over a little bit overdramatic at some point, but really, it is it, like, it is your diabetes, and I think, man, what a hard place to be in, I think as a parent as well, you know, trying to be in that situation and do that because I'm sure that was painful.

[00:06:06] Sarah Hannon: Oh, yeah. I mean, every parent I feel like that I follow that has a child that's diabetic, I mean, they all say, if I could take it from you, I would. And I believe that's true. I mean, it has to be the hardest thing for a parent to have a child that they can't do anything about. It's uncontrollable. Like, they can't control it no matter how hard they try. I mean, your blood sugar is going to do what they want. I mean, you can try to control it, but there's only so much you can do. And that's got to be so heartbreaking to just watch it because there's nothing you can do.

[00:06:38] Rob Howe: And I think about sometimes how frustrated I get with, you know, even now on days where my blood sugar should be great and it's just not. And, you know, for it could be 10, 20 different reasons. You know, a lot of it is environmental. And I can't imagine how frustrating that would be as a parent. you know, with a, with a young child, do you remember anything specifically, any challenges other than the needles that you faced sort of growing up with diabetes as you know, going into your adolescent years?

[00:07:08] Sarah Hannon: I think for a long time, I would, well, having parents that are divorced, it kind of makes you lose yourself a little bit because there's so much going on all the time. I mean, if you have split households and all that stuff, but also just, I was in denial for a long time. I was like, this can't be my life. I can just go on without doing anything, and I'll be fine because there wasn't any immediate consequence. I was able to just kind of get by with the bare minimum and stay high for most of the day, and I'd be fine. I'd take my Lantus, and I would go to sleep and wake up the next day, and it'd be all fine. But it got to the point where I had to accept it because I wasn't damaging anybody but myself. I wasn't going to be the one that had the consequences. is I my parents weren't going to be the ones that lost toes and fingers and their sights and they weren't going to end up in the hospital I mean it killed them to watch it but I was definitely one of those rebellious teenagers that just didn't want to do it and I mean there's so much that your parents can like tell you to do but I mean at the end of the day it's it's your body and you're going to choose what you want to do and that kind of thing so I mean it was definitely hard on both ends. I mean, I've fought with my parents a lot about it. I mean, I can remember my dad just being like, test, do your insulin, take your shots, that kind of stuff. But I mean, it's your body. You have to take control of it. And at some point you have to like realize that

[00:08:36] Rob Howe: you're not hurting anybody but yourself. And I think sometimes, especially when you're a teenager, that's a hard thing. You know, it's part of growing up. You get to have that teenage angst and your hormones are all out of whack because of your insulin and you're dealing with this new, you know, learning your body as well as learning your diabetes. Really challenging sometimes. And I think part of what I've learned from the mentorship program that I've been going through with JDRF has been that sometimes having someone who's not your doctor and not your parents telling you that it's going to be OK or, you know, answering questions or talking through certain situations is really helpful. And so I think, for example, let's talk a little bit about today. You have a pretty inspirational and very approachable Instagram account and brand online, promoting health and wellness through your type 1 diabetes. Talk about some of the experiences that you've had just interacting with other diabetics online.

[00:09:41] Sarah Hannon: um I feel like that's exactly where I found the acceptance in it because for a long time there were diabetics I grew up in a small town about 1200 people so it was a small town there was two other diabetics that I knew and and the only connection that we had was because we were diabetics and I mean that's that's a strong connection in itself but if that's the only connection you have sometimes it's just not strong enough to hang out every day or talk every day but through Instagram I was able to connect with other diabetics and that was where I found that it was okay that that that I needed to accept it and and move on there was nothing I could do that would change it and if I could influence somebody else's life to like make them make that move of accepting it and just moving forward and being proud of what they were and how they are then that would be okay with me because for a long time I did feel alone because I didn't I didn't know anybody else. And there's a stage where you tell your parents or your teachers or your best friend that like your blood sugar is 350 and you've been insulin all day, but yet it's not coming down. And like they understand, but they only understand to an extent. So it's really hard when you're trying to voice yourself, but it's only so, I mean, they only understand to a certain extent. So that's where I found Instagram as it's a community. I mean, that's just the way I put it. I mean, I accept it and move forward and try to help somebody else who's struggling too.

[00:11:13] Rob Howe: And I think that's been so cool for me too, is like there's so many little pockets. And I think Instagram is probably the biggest. And, you know, sometimes, you know, you brought up a good point about not having much in common other than diabetes. But I think I've learned as well that there's a lot of people out there who want to share their stories. Just like you said, maybe it helps one person and that's worth it. which is such a, you know, giving and like humble attitude to have. And I found so many people that are willing to give their time and thoughts and just energy, which is, you know, so valuable. You know, everybody's got so much stuff that they've got to do and take care of and responsibilities. But there's sort of an outpouring of just support and, you know, love and community. And it's been really surprising. And I didn't really know it was out there. And it's very, very cool.

[00:12:06] Sarah Hannon: yeah I've really grown to love it I mean I can I can be who I who I want to be who I who I dreamed I would be one day in front of everybody on Instagram and there's no judgment they there's so many people that would be like oh my gosh I was in your shoes yesterday like I feel the exact same way you're feeling right now and that's that's so overwhelming to feel like I'm not alone anymore

[00:12:28] Rob Howe: so let's talk a little bit about those hopes and dreams I know uh this episode is titled So Diabetics Doing a Healthy Journey to Self-Love. So talk about a little bit about what that means and what that means to you and sort of what you're doing to help other people achieve that.

[00:12:44] Sarah Hannon: So at the beginning of the year, I realized that unless I took control of my blood sugars, my diabetes, my life, that things weren't going to be so pretty eventually. I wasn't seeing the repercussions of my actions now. but I would be seeing them later. And I'm 22 right now. So later down the road, I want to be able to have children. I want to be able to get married. I want to be able to see my grandchildren. I realized some of those things might not be possible unless I had my health. And so I realized I needed to make some serious changes in my life. So I stopped drinking. I started exercising. I started eating foods that made me feel better, made me basically fuel my body for what I needed it, and foods that made my blood sugars not act crazy. So I started doing the Beachbody workouts, the makers of P90X, Insanity. They do 22 Minute Hard Corps, 21-day fix, hammer and chisel, those kind of things. And I found another community that I loved. They realized that you can be who you want to be, and still succeed, that diabetes doesn't have to stop you from doing whatever you want. I thought for a long time because I had diabetes that I wasn't going to be able to exercise and reach my health and physical goals because of the tackle of having lows in the middle of your workout or the lows in the middle of the night and eating something and not working out because you had to eat that. but I learned a way to cope with that and I really just want to share that knowledge with other diabetics that you still can achieve those physical goals and those mental goals and get over those hurdles and do it a healthy way you don't have to starve yourself and take all these pills and do everything and for the most part my blood sugars have reacted really well to the diets that I'm on because they're what your body wants to eat it's normal food it's not the processed like Chinese food that your blood sugars hate. I mean, there has to be a reason that your blood sugars go crazy over Chinese food because it's probably not good for you.

[00:15:09] Rob Howe: Oh, Chinese food's such a trap. Oh, it's so good.

[00:15:13] Sarah Hannon: So I just wanted to share that knowledge with other diabetics that you don't have to be in this mental mindset that you can't do something because you have diabetes. Because I was in that trap for such a long time, and I was like, I can't do that because my diabetes is going to enable me. And I broke that trap and now I'm where I'm going and I'm not stopping until I can't do it anymore.

[00:15:37] Rob Howe: Well, and it sounds like, you know, with the path that you're on, that's going to be quite some time. And, you know, it's interesting that you had that. I think somewhere, I don't know, somewhere I always thought my mom was my mom owned a curves franchise women's like workout center for like 12 years. so she when i got diagnosed she was a big part of me you know being on starting off on the right foot like knowing how to count my carbs and making sure that i was eating the right things and so i think somewhere like even though when i was like 20 and you know really into like my mid-20s i was sort of eating whatever i want wanted because i had high metabolism and i was super super active because i played basketball all the time at a really high level and um So my body was just a machine. It would burn off whatever I gave to it. And my blood sugars reacted pretty much normal all the time. But then, you know, I got done playing basketball. So I started, you know, working and sitting and there was just a whole lot less activity going on. and I think like somewhere along the line, I always knew I'd have to eat healthy and really dedicate myself to, um, to living that healthy lifestyle. Um, but then it just hit really, it hit when I was like 25 and I was like, wow, I really need to, uh, start thinking long-term kind of like what you were saying. And, um, so some friends of mine, uh, were doing a whole 30, uh, and I did a podcast about that with the founder, um, Melissa Hartwig and, um, man, it was crazy how my blood sugars reacted. Like you said, it was like, there must be something to eating all this right food because your blood sugars react like almost instantly.

[00:17:16] Sarah Hannon: Yeah, it's crazy. I mean, I can track, I mean, I have a CGM now and I can track everything and you can tell when, when I eat properly on certain days and when I don't, because my graphs are flawless on one day and all over the place on the next. I mean, it has to be something to it.

[00:17:33] Rob Howe: And that's, that's an interesting point you bring up as well as just like the data, you You know, it's easy to look at a chart and say, okay, I see these big spikes. Like, let's track that back to what it is. And then you look back and it's a slice of pizza or it's Chinese food. But then on the days where you eat healthy, just seeing that nice, like, flat, low curve. And I was having a conversation with another, just via email, somebody had reached out about Whole30. And they were asking me about, you know, how my blood sugars reacted throughout. And I said, hey, the best way to do it is just to make a spreadsheet and track your blood sugar whenever you test it every day and just test at the same time. So then especially if you don't have a CGM, if you have a CGM, it's a little bit different. You have a little bit more resources. But this person didn't have one. And about two weeks later, they emailed me and they saw the curve and they were like, you know what? This made a huge difference. And I could tell exactly where. So I think sometimes it's easy because it's easy to cop out of that because we have diabetes all the time. So it's like, I don't want to track every blood sugar I've ever had manually because that's just, that's a lot of work sometimes and we tend to get lazy. But, you know, for three weeks, four weeks at a time to just get that little sample, I think is super important.

[00:18:43] Sarah Hannon: Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. And another thing is that I've had so many, I mean, I have a couple followers on Instagram, but I get messages sometimes and they're like, they're from other Beachbody coaches like myself. And they're like, I see your great work through diabetes. Have you cured your diabetes with Beachbody? I just laugh. I'm like, please inform yourself of the difference between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. I may not have to take as much insulin when I'm on this diet, but it doesn't cure my diabetes. And it makes me so frustrated. And I'm like, America, please, please, please educate yourself. because it's such a common misconception that diet and exercise can cure things. I mean, it helps tremendously. I'm not going to lie, but it doesn't cure anything.

[00:19:33] Rob Howe: That was a conversation that I had. Somebody had reached out over Instagram. A friend had tagged me in a post. Someone was looking for like a type 1 diabetes coach. And they were like, hey, you know, this person doesn't want to take medicine. They just got diagnosed. They don't really know if it's type 1. We don't, we're not sure. But the doctors think it is. And she doesn't want to take medicine. She wants to do this. And I was like, look, first of all, slow down and listen to the doctor. Because this is a real thing. This is not just like a made up disease. She may not feel that terrible, but you caught it really early. And second of all, there's no other option. You have to take medicine. And it's like, yeah, everything else will make it so much easier and so much more sustainable long term. But gosh, listen to your doctor, everybody. That's like the biggest thing. Yeah.

[00:20:24] Sarah Hannon: Self-diagnosis is never the answer.

[00:20:26] Rob Howe: It really is. It doesn't matter what you're dealing with. I think always, always trust the experts. All right. So are you finding that, you know, as you're an influential figure sort of out in the public eye on Instagram, you know, that people are reaching out to you and asking you questions?

[00:20:48] Sarah Hannon: um more so than not nowadays i i get a lot of of how do you manage this as far as um fitness goes for kids my or i guess young adults my age um they i get a lot of questions on how to manage my lows when i'm on a diet and um recently i've now gotten younger girls that are on instagram and they say I've recently been diagnosed and I don't know how to handle it because I'm in middle school and for girls middle school is so terribly hard to begin with um and so I just tell them it's gonna be okay um I mean it's hard and you're different and that's hard in middle school but it's gonna be okay for those girls and I try to be there for them I say if you ever need anything if you ever feel alone if you ever feel like nobody understands what you're going through reach out there's a whole community of people on instagram that are willing to talk to you more times than not i i mean i've reached out to people that i didn't even know i've messaged them and said hey i'm going through this have you ever gone through this and and more times than not they're willing to talk to you and a lot of the time people are so afraid to talk to people they don't know because they feel like they're going to be judged that they're not going to understand what they're going through and most of the time the diabetics that you talk to have gone through it. If they've been diabetic longer than you, they've gone through it. And so I just want people to know that it's okay to reach out. Absolutely. And I think like, as especially, you know, as a

[00:22:22] Rob Howe: young person, learning to ask for things, and being okay with that is such a huge skill to learn. I think, you know, I ask people now, you know, just through this podcast and through, you know, trying to get involved with the different communities throughout the country. I ask people for more things now than maybe ever before. And I, I mean, knock on wood, but I have not been turned down like once yet. Everybody is so willing to help and so willing to offer insight. And I think that's just a lesson we can all learn. I think it's like, it's okay to ask for things and it's okay to need people's help. I think it's just a, it's just an important thing to always keep in the back of your mind.

[00:23:04] Sarah Hannon: Yeah, I agree. I mean, everybody's, experience different things and you can always learn from somebody else. I mean, your experience may be a little different, but you never know when you might encounter something like that. And to have somebody who's been through it is, is such a tremendous help because I mean, your doctor can give you the textbook information on it, but a personal experience is 10 times

[00:23:25] Rob Howe: better, more helpful than that. And I think, you know, before we, before we kind of close out the interview. With those people who are newly diagnosed in mind, or if you were going to look at yourself as a nine-year-old being diagnosed, what's the one thing that you would

[00:23:44] Sarah Hannon: say to those people or to yourself? I would say take it one day at a time. Looking at it as a long-term thing, it seems fatal because they never tell you anything good that comes out of it. I can tell you a lot more good has come out of my diabetes than that. Um, with diabetes, I've, I've grown so many friendships with people that I would have never even had. I've, I've grown a brand that I can spread awareness about being a healthy diabetic. I've, I've influenced people to make a better change in their lives, not necessarily because they're diabetic, but because they say if she has diabetes and she can do it, then I can do it. And, and that, that gives me another reason to step foot on the floor every morning and say, I can handle today. And if I can handle today, I can handle the next day. And I take it one day at a time. And some days your blood sugar is just not going to, going to work with you. And that's okay because tomorrow's a new day and one day is not going to, not going to kill you as they say. So just take it one day at a time and reach out to people. I mean, that really helps. I mean, I never did it as a young kid. And if I would have done it then I probably would have had my a1c's in in range because i felt so alone i mean my doctor was not a good support system and i felt like i was i was doing it by myself and so reach out to people

[00:25:11] Rob Howe: that's fantastic sarah um for our followers who are in our listeners who don't already follow you

[00:25:17] Sarah Hannon: where they can where can they find you on instagram um at sarah k hannon and that's Sarah with an H and Hannon is H-A-N-N-O-N. And those are all N's as in Nancy.

[00:25:31] Rob Howe: Awesome. And what's next for you? You mentioned, you know, you're finishing up school. What you got planned for the next, what are we going to see next from Sarah Hannon?

[00:25:41] Sarah Hannon: I am kind of in that process of figuring it out myself. I think I'm going to take my Beachbody coaching to the next level. So after school, I think I'm going to try and work it as a full-time business and see where that goes and hopefully some traveling and trying to find myself as a

[00:25:58] Rob Howe: young adult. So I don't really know yet. Well, we look forward to finding out with you and best of luck. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Without you, this wouldn't be possible. I keep getting emails at rob at DiabeticsDoingThings.com. So if you keep sending them, I'll keep answering them. Thanks a lot.