Diabetics Doing Life in a New Light with Erika Cavallo

[00:00:01] Rob Howe: Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast where we're telling the amazing, untold, wacky, weird, and inspiring stories of type 1 diabetics from across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and I wanted to let you know that we now have over 500 years of living with T1D on the podcast, and we're on track to be over 1,000 by the end of the summer, which is pretty exciting. I also wanted to chat about my new email series, Friday T1D Feels, where I send you a personal note, no fancy graphics or anything like that, about what I've been thinking about in the world of type 1 diabetes during that week. If you're into that, just go to diabeticsdoingthings.com and sign up. I'd also like to take a minute to talk about #Coverage2Control. JDRF is raising awareness around the fact that most of us don't get to pick the insulin pumps we have, just the ones our insurance will cover. Just imagine if your cell phone was like that. Except this isn't a phone, it's what keeps us alive. So let your voice be heard and tell your insurance company that T1Ds and their doctors should decide what kind of pumps they use, not the companies. I'm looking at you, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let's get this right. Okay, enough chatter. Let's get back to the episode. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all around the world. And calling me today from New Jersey, from hot New Jersey, according to her, is Erika Cavallo. Erika, welcome to the podcast.

[00:01:32] Erika Cavallo: Hi, how are you doing today?

[00:01:33] Rob Howe: Doing just fantastic. Really excited to tell your story and introduce you to everyone. So why don't you just kind of kick us off and tell us how you ended up on Diabetics Doing Things and go start with diagnosis.

[00:01:46] Erika Cavallo: um okay so well i was at a um the students with diabetes conference and there we got like one of the One Drop meters there was um a rep there who was giving them out and i was just kind of looking on the website and then i saw you and i met like some people who were like rob does this amazing podcast and things so i just kind of followed you and you just kind of got in touch with me but um let's see diagnosis so I was this was a little over two years ago I was 19 years old I'm 21 now um I was playing division one lacrosse at Towson University so you can probably imagine what

[00:02:27] Rob Howe: it's like being a student athlete yeah very tough and like I think especially uh to have reached that level like you know you're already in college at that point and right you know you sort of have your routine down. You know, at that point, it's just like, you know, you have you have your certain routine, you're working out all the time, you know, you're practicing long hours, and you don't have to worry about stuff. But then you kind of throw a wrench of diabetes, and it changes things.

[00:02:52] Erika Cavallo: Yeah, I mean, it totally changed everything. I mean, going into freshman year, you kind of have the mindset, like, I just really wanted to play. And I was getting that playing time. And I felt I was really hitting a peak where I've never played that well before. And I just remember before I got diagnosed, I don't really have a typical story. I feel like I hear a lot of other people talk about. I was a couple weeks prior, I noticed that after every game or practice, my whole body was cramping up, like horrible cramps. I was screaming and crying, and I didn't know what was going on. So that was pretty scary for everybody. And basically what happened was I just kind of went on for a few weeks like that. And I didn't really notice that anything else was going on. I mean, now that I know like the symptoms of diabetes and things that like people experience before they're diagnosed, now I remember that like I was going to the bathroom a lot or I was super thirsty, but I was just kind of going about my day and didn't really think anything of it. And once it got to a point where it was just so bad, and I would just remember, like, I'd literally be doing things just so like, I'd be laying in bed at night and try not to even move because that's how bad my leg cramps were. And I finally went in to see the team doctor. And I was like, I really think that I need to get blood work done. And she kind of just was like, let's focus on your diet. And I'm like, I eat really healthy. Like, I don't think that I eat like poorly. So she's like, you know what? Okay, let's get some blood work done. And this was April 2nd that I got blood work done. So this was a Thursday. And I remember just going in, it was like any type of routine blood work that somebody has done. And I just got my blood taken, didn't think anything of it. Of course, before I got my blood taken, I had like a huge, bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel. So that definitely wasn't good. But yeah, I think, uh, the morning that I got diagnosed, I like woke up and was like nauseous. So I had thrown up and I like just to kind of wash, you know, you brush your teeth, but you know, the flavor anyway, it's gross, but I had a doctor, I had a Dr. Pepper. And so it's like my fasting blood sugar was like 500. It was ridiculous. Oh my goodness. Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah. So I just, I was like, I had that yummy bagel, probably the last one I've ever really had. So I went in and got my blood work done. And I just remember that night before I was diagnosed, I texted my dad. And we actually had a game on Friday, which was the next day. And my parents were coming down from New Jersey to Maryland because it was a home game. So I texted my dad, and I was just laying in bed, and I was like, Dad, I think something's really wrong. and my dad's like all the time I'm getting my leg cramps he's like you got it Erika like just keep pushing whatever it's fine and he texted me back and he was like I don't think anything's wrong but let's just like see what happens I was gonna go home that weekend anyways for um I was just gonna go home to hang out with my family and stuff so I was like okay you know what I'll get a little bit of time off and we'll see how it goes from there and the next day I woke up and it was game day so So, you know, like anytime you're getting ready for a game, like you just want to be like in your element, all focused and everything. And I think it was around 1030 at this point on April 3rd. And I saw that I got I was getting a phone call and it was a Maryland number. So I picked up the phone and it was the team doctor. and she says, hi, Erika, are you somewhere we could talk about your blood work? And at this point, I'm in my dorm room just getting ready for the game. And I was like, yeah, of course, I'm in my dorm room. What's going on? And she basically told me, can you sit down? So I'm like, what's going to happen? So I sat down and the first thing she says to me is, I don't know how to tell you this. There's no right way to tell you this, but I have no idea how you're not in a diabetic coma right now. And I just kind of froze and I didn't really understand because when you hear diabetic coma, like I think anybody would be like, what the heck's going on? Right. So I just kind of like gathered my thoughts and she continued to tell me she was like, your blood work showing that your sugars are like over 500. And I'm like, okay like I don't know anything I had no idea about diabetes like I had no idea about type 1 diabetes like I knew what it was but I had no idea what the numbers meant so I said okay and she goes these are normally signs of type 1 diabetes and I'm like wait a second I'm like okay are you telling me that I have type 1 diabetes and she said yes and I don't remember much from there I just remember she said, you need to be rushed to the emergency room right now, or I need to try and get you an appointment with an endocrinologist. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, like I'm this 19 year old girl. I'm a freshman in college. Like I didn't have my car at the time. Then the trainer is calling me. All these different people are calling me. All my friends are coming to my dorm and I'm just crying. And then I had to make the dreaded call to my parents to tell them, hey, we're not going to a game. you're actually going to the hospital, which was pretty scary for them. And I called my parents, and my mom was pretty upset. And of course, my dad, he's like, Oh, what are you talking about? Like, kind of kind of making a joke out of it. Like, come on, Eric, like, you got to be kidding me. And my dad know, like, it's really serious. And I one of my teammates picked me up, drove me to the hospital that the team doctor was actually working at that day. And of course, my parents get stuck in the worst traffic ever. So it took them like two hours to get there from like they were supposed to be 30 minutes away, but it literally took them two hours. And I walked in to a hospital by myself in the middle of Baltimore. And I walk in and the team doctor was there and And she was like, you know, I actually got you an appointment with an endocrinologist. And it just happened that it was a woman named Dr. Cowan. And she wanted me to get an appointment with this one male doctor. But she's like, you know, like this woman, I heard she's really good. And I'm like, honestly, at this point, just get me in with somebody. Like, just figure out where my parents are. And I was sitting in the waiting room by myself. and it's pretty scary when you don't really know what's going on and I'm sitting in the waiting room and I see people in wheelchairs and they have like their feet amputated and they're really swollen and I'm just like what is happening I'm like this cannot be happening right now not to me and I remember the nurse said okay like Erika let's come back and they went to go put me on the scale. And I had just been weighed in the weight room, like two weeks ago. And normally, I'm like, I mean, I don't care if people know how much I weigh. But I'm like, normally, I'm like, 150 to 155. And I got on the scale, and it was like 130. And I was like, no way. Like, the doctor's like, are you normally this weight? I'm like, nope. So that was shocking. And I just went in and I'm sitting there by myself and the nurse came in and all of a sudden I'm being like pricked and prodded with like all these different things they're trying to get me insulin and I'm like what is this thing like I had no idea and all of a sudden I just like this little woman comes in and turns the corner and she's like the most amazing doctor in the entire world and I just feel like lucky that I got to know her because if it wasn't for her, I don't think like I would have reacted as well. And my parents wouldn't have reacted as well. Cause I feel like if you don't have a good doctor, it's like, it's like a make or break situation. Like you either love

[00:11:29] Rob Howe: them or you don't. Right. And I, and I think I want to talk a little bit about that moment because like you're spending, it's, it's a super high emotional moment. Uh, you're 19 years old, your parents can't get to you you're missing your college lacrosse game which for those of you who are not athletes like that's a big deal like you have like probably the most FOMO of all time I imagine oh yeah just like quaking I would be quaking with anxiety yeah I was just it was crazy so all this is going on um you know emotionally kind of a roller coaster you're going in there I remember the first thing that came to my mind I was 16 um and obviously like a really active athlete and trying to be a, you know, a college athlete, the first thing that came to my mind was all I know about diabetes is that people aren't athletes, right? Right. No, exactly. Yeah. What, so walk us through sort of what you were thinking. And then as you were talking with your doctor, you know, those first few moments of like, is this going to be okay? What were those like?

[00:12:35] Erika Cavallo: so I really just remember thinking like exactly what you said like how can I have diabetes I was like there's no way that like I have diabetes like people with diabetes like aren't athletes or anything and for like to be completely honest like I just kind of had the mindset like I think I was just in so much shock at that point and like I really just wanted to like get my parents in there like have their comfort as well but I was just like I wasn't super super upset when I was in the room with the doctor until my parents kind of came in you get upset when you see them they're obviously upset and she just kind of looked at me and she said um she was like Erika like I can tell you're really upset like don't be upset she's like it's gonna be okay and she just kind of she really almost like took me in like I was her own daughter. She's like, here's my number. Here's my personal phone number. She's like, you text, you call me any questions you have, like, I don't care what time it was. And for me, that was like such a sense of comfort that I wasn't really that scared. I was just more in shock. And they're telling me now I hadn't eaten like anything because before the game, you go out and you get food. So I'm like, okay, I'm not, I haven't had anything in my stomach. And at this point they're pumping me with water, like water bottle after water bottle because they're scared that I'm dehydrated. So I have nothing in my system at all. And she just kind of took one look at me and she explained how I prick my finger, how much units of insulin I'm going to give myself my long lasting insulin. And she just took a look at me and she goes, I'm not going to admit you to the hospital. She said, I feel like you just want to go home. And I'm like, I want to go home to New Jersey and I just want to be with my family. And she said, okay, that's what you're going to do. So we just started after we left, I just had to go to, they had like a little pharmacy in the hospital and I'm trying to, my dad's trying to figure out insurance stuff and get all these like supplies. And I mean, it's a lot. I mean, you could probably remember like all the stuff you had to get right when you were diagnosed. It's

[00:15:03] Rob Howe: crazy. Yeah. And I think, um, when you're a little bit older, I think it's, it's so, it varies so much how, um, how you're either admitted or not admitted to the hospital or your diabetes education, because I like stayed in the hospital for three days, three or four days. Yeah. And they like every day would come in and teach me something new and a nutritionist would come in. And, you know, it was a little bit overkill, but I at the same time was just trying to learn. And something, you know, when I was in the ER and like sitting on the stretcher, I remember this nurse came in and gave me the saline bag and my body drank the saline bag in like five minutes. Yeah. That's crazy. They were like laughing about it. And, uh, and I immediately, and they gave me some insulin in there as well. And I immediately felt better. And I was like, Oh, like this definitely what was, what was wrong? Because I had a little bit of denial as I imagined, like you did, you know, very similar, like, Oh, well, I'm pretty active. I'm like pretty healthy. Like, I don't think that this is something that's really going to be a huge deal. Right. But then, you know, then obviously like learning everything, but you know, when you're older and you know obviously like capable and smart independent like a doctor you know can do what they did for you and and I mean did you just have like a booklet and there she was basically

[00:16:21] Erika Cavallo: like here's some basics and good luck yeah well she basically like I guess like to be completely honest she deals with like being in the hospital in Baltimore she deals with like a lot of people who either like don't have insurance or don't really want to take care of themselves so I think I was just kind of like, like I said, like she took me in as a daughter, like she saw that I was so like distressed. And she just was like, take my number like she gave me it was a little book where I would write things down, like what I was eating. And she told me my ratios and everything like that. And then I would basically just text and call her like she was honestly she was like finding a unicorn. She was like an amazing doctor. Because I've like, when I first got diagnosed, And when we left the hospital, my mom was like, oh, this can't be true. Like, I want to get a second opinion. So she wanted to take me to a doctor in New Jersey. And we have a family friend who works at one of the hospitals by us. So he got me in with another doctor. And it was just not the same. Like, she definitely told me, like, obviously, you have diabetes. But the connection that I had with Dr. Cowan was nothing like I had with this other doctor. like she just made it like significantly easy for my family and myself to kind of get through it

[00:17:45] Rob Howe: and that's such a huge part of successful diagnosis um i i had amazing doctors and i just didn't know because you have nothing to compare it to right right and i didn't know what i didn't know so my doctors were they loved me and like were super fun and every checkup i had were like, oh yeah, how you doing? Like how's sports? Cause I guess like, you know, a lot of their patients were there cause they were pediatric doctors. So they were children or, and they were scared or they weren't adjusting well. And I was just like, yeah, this is great. I feel awesome. My numbers are great. Cause I was honeymooning hardcore and like really active. So like my A1C was like five for a long time and they were like, yeah, yeah, everything's good. So I was just basically friends with them. And I didn't realize that how lucky I was to have such a great support from the get-go because not everybody has that. And not every doctor will write their phone number on the booklet or say, hey, I feel like you can handle this and let's just get you out of here.

[00:18:46] Erika Cavallo: Yeah.

[00:18:47] Rob Howe: So from there, you go back home to New Jersey, spend a little time, I imagine, away from school and with your family, kind of learning things. Walk me through going back to school, getting back with the team, jumping back into your daily routine.

[00:19:05] Erika Cavallo: So basically, after I left, I was diagnosed on a Friday. And shockingly, I didn't really spend that much time home, because I really just wanted to get back to lacrosse because I just I was having such a great season. And I was just like, I'm not going to let this affect where I'm going on the path that I'm taking. And I got diagnosed on a Friday, and I went back that Monday. So not much time off but after I got back I kind of just thought that I would just be thrown back in to the midst of things and as time went on for reasons that I'll never really understand or I'll never really get an answer to I just didn't get that playing time anymore and I wasn't somebody who was going to sit on the sidelines when I knew how I was playing before. So after a while, I was just like, you know what? I'm not going to do this anymore. My health's way more important. And I decided I was like, I can't do this anymore. And I just quit. And I don't like using the word quit because I think I kind of just had enough. And I was like, you know what? my health is way more important than a college sport. So, so did you, and, and, you know,

[00:20:31] Rob Howe: I don't want to dig too deep into hypotheticals, but you felt that your opportunities were limited just because of the pre, like they were worried about you potentially, or didn't want to deal with that extra maybe baggage. I don't know if that's the right word. Yeah. I mean, I definitely

[00:20:50] Erika Cavallo: think a lot of things played into it and I've never gotten a straight answer but I mean you can only imagine how I was feeling from going like to playing all the time and then not and it just it just didn't feel right anymore and I was just kind of like you know what I'm not gonna waste my time on something that like now that my diabetes is so much more important I was like this is what I need to focus on. Right. But I mean, it's hard. Like it was really hard for me because like my whole life I was defined as an athlete and like everybody knew like Erika, like she's, she's just an athlete. Like every, that's what everybody knew me as. And for that to kind of be like pulled away from me, it was definitely hard, but I just kind of knew that I could like, When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I just kind of felt this sense of almost like a different path that my life was taking. And I was like, you know what? I feel like I can really make a difference and show people that you can live with this disease and get through it. So that's kind of what got me through it.

[00:22:03] Rob Howe: So that changed. And I understand the innate change in your life and your approach. I used to play like up until literally up until I was diagnosed I played pretty competitive ice hockey along with basketball and I have not skated one time on ice since I was diagnosed like never again I don't know I just like the whole desire of it just went away and I don't know why I just

[00:22:28] Erika Cavallo: it was a weird one of those really weird things yeah I kind of had the same feeling and it's like you go your whole first year of college and you just you kind of learn a lot of things like I felt like I lost a lot of friends and I felt like people just didn't really understand what I was going through and for me it was more you know what I'm the type of person like I'm a silly goofy outgoing personality people would like make jokes about it like being having diabetes and like that was my way of getting through it too like let's joke about it um but at one point I'm just like you know what it's actually pretty serious and I'm kind of just like tired of people joking about it and you realize like having diabetes, how serious it is. And people, I don't think people truly understand unless you have someone in your family who has it, you're not really going to understand what it's like to deal with it. Yeah. And I think, you know, that, that was my

[00:23:29] Rob Howe: experience. And I think a lot of other people who lived most of their life without diabetes, Right. And unless there's somebody close to you or it's, you know, within your within your purview, you're sort of just oblivious, just like any other disease, really. Yeah. And ignorance is bliss kind of there. Yeah. Now that you shifted and changed and your perspective changed and you have adopted the mentality of showing people what it's like to live as a type 1 and the things that are possible and the stigmas that are overcome, what's your daily approach? What's different about Erika the athlete versus Erika the diabetic or Erika the athlete and diabetic and advocate?

[00:24:15] Erika Cavallo: it? So I think I'm I think that my personalities really stayed the same. I feel like the personality that I have now was the same before I was diagnosed. But now like when I was first diagnosed, like the day after I immediately got involved with the American Diabetes Association. And it just kind of took off from there. I mean, I've been with them. I've done their walk for three years now and my team's consistently grown from probably 20 people to 30. And the last walk we did was about 60 people. So it's crazy to think how much it's grown. And that's what's kind of my path. I was like, let me just get out there and jump right into things. And throughout my day to day life, I kind of use that mentality too. And like you said, there's a lot of ignorant people out there who don't really understand. But I just, I wear the my CGM on my arm. And I wear my Omnipod on my arm, because it's the most comfortable spots for me to wear them. And I'll get like a lot of people that will stare at me and kind of look at me. And I don't know, I've just, I don't mind that people look at me. Like, I think if somebody wants to ask me about it. Perfect way to educate people. And because if I saw somebody with a pod or a Dexcom on their arm, I probably wouldn't have any idea what it is if I didn't know about diabetes. So for me, I just kind of, I go about my day to day life and I just really like to stay involved. And I think that day to day, every day is different. So when people ask me, like I either even like any other diabetics will say, oh, like, what do you do from like day to day? Like, can you give me some tips? It's hard to give other people tips because like, as you know, like something that works for you might not work for somebody else.

[00:26:16] Rob Howe: Right, because we're all different, you know?

[00:26:18] Erika Cavallo: Right. So it's hard to, it's hard to like tell somebody exactly what I do, but I basically, every day I wake up is different. So depending on like what my number is, when I wake up, I'll decide what I'm going to do. If I wake up pretty high, I'm like, you know what? Let me just go for a run, go for a swim. I'll get it down. Or if my number is like an average number, pretty good. I'm like, I'll try and stay pretty, pretty consistent throughout the day. But I mean, for the first year I was like in that honeymoon stage, I was just perfect. Like I was in the best shape I was ever in. I was eating really healthy. but I was also scared to eat because when you're first diagnosed, it's a little bit scary. You're like, I can't eat that. I don't want to eat any of those things. Now I'm like, all right, you know, I can splurge a little bit. I'm like, it's okay. You know what? I'll have some Chick-fil-A today. It's fine. I'm like, my number will go down. But most of the time I really try to stay on a pretty healthy diet. I like to eat a lot of protein. For me, that's worked really, really well. I don't really eat that many carbs like throughout the day. And it's not like before I was like, huge into eating sweets or anything like that. So it wasn't super hard for me to adjust to different foods. Like I was love salads, I love smoothie kind of things. It was more like people don't realize that there's sugar in everything. Right? Yeah, like you don't realize that, okay, carbs is sugar. So it's like, you see something that sugar free and you're like, oh, it's totally fine. My friends are like, you can have that. I'm like, yeah, no.

[00:28:02] Rob Howe: Well, and I think like, it's really interesting because I think awareness of sugar and carbs is that maybe an all time high right now. Right. I'm right in the middle of another whole 30. I think this is my eighth one. And, but I think I realized even before I started it, like how sensitive I am to carbs anyway, just because I count, I've counted every carb I've eaten since 2004 or 2005. So, um, you know, just because I have to. So I think the thing that a lot of people have changed is like the thought of low carb diets and diabetes, like, cause I think they used to be like universally rejected as like, not okay. Like, but like Adkins diet was like the only that was really around back, you know, 15 years ago or so that was, you know, at least popular. And people were rejecting that. And most of the research was done based on like high carb diets. And so it's been really cool to see like lately, like I don't, I don't use that much insulin anymore. I used to use double the insulin a day that I do now. And I eat about the same amount. It's just a different type of food. Right. And, you know, food that's better for me as an athlete, better for me as you know for as a human just overall higher quality you know more greens less less no bread no milk no you know a lot less sugar less processed food you just you just feel better

[00:29:23] Erika Cavallo: right you're just like generally in a better state and we me and my friend actually we always joke because the day before I was diagnosed so I was diagnosed on Good Friday and my friend was like, Erika, let's try and give something up for Lent this year. So my best friend, Jen, is like, you know what, let's give up sweets. So I'm like, I don't know if I could do it. But you know what, I'm going to try. And my doctor always jokes around too. And she's like, wow, if you were eating candy, who knows what your sugar would have been? Or who knows what you would have been like if you might have gone into a diabetic coma, or you your sugar would have been so high. So I'm I'm like, luckily, you know, I wasn't eating too much sugar. But the day I was diagnosed, me and my friend planned on going out and getting a big piece of chocolate cake. So that didn't really happen.

[00:30:17] Rob Howe: Yeah, it's funny how those things work out. Like I, this is going to like date the time that I got diagnosed. But my friends and I would always go to Blockbuster. And Blockbuster had these like gummy worms that were in these plastic containers. And I used to get one like every time I would just like eat the whole thing because I was 15. and really tall and worked out all the time. So it was like my body could process anything. And then it was just a joke. Like, man, those tins that came back, those little tins of gummy worms came back to bite you. Obviously not scientifically accurate, but it was a fun thing to joke about.

[00:30:50] Erika Cavallo: Right.

[00:30:52] Rob Howe: So, you know, today, what are you hopeful for? You know, as you, you know, two years in, you're 21, you're obviously really young. So as you continue to live out, like and get into your adult mid-20s life with type 1, what are you hopeful for?

[00:31:05] Erika Cavallo: um I just hope that I can I love staying involved like I think that for me for a while um I'd say like really last semester of my junior year I kind of let myself slip a little bit and I was just kind of doing whatever I wanted to do and I just wasn't taking it as serious like I did the year before and I recently was just like you know what like I need to get back on the right track Like it's very serious. And my mom actually, she mentioned to me, she's like, you should really get involved. I saw like a students with diabetes conference and I'm like, mom, like, I don't want to go to that. Like I'm going to be alone. I don't know anybody. And I went there and I came back and I said it was life changing because you meet all these people, these amazing people who have these inspiring stories of what they went through. and for me I'm like that just gives me so much hope and the fact that I can see people from ages like 18 to 30 living with diabetes and some of them have families they're married they have kids and they're living a healthy life it gives somebody who's 21 or even 18 it kind of just gives us hope that like everything's going to be okay you really just have to take care of yourself and I think for me it was more like building connections with people and just having other people who understand what you're going through because there's a lot of people who don't and having somebody to text all the time and having somebody to be like hey is your sugar high today like what's going on it was just really nice to be around people and it just made me like it just kind of showed me that the path that I was on was the path that I kind of wanted to stay on. And I want to be involved with the diabetic community a lot more. Like, I feel like I can really make a difference and share my story. So I'm excited for what the future is going to hold. I mean, my inspiration, I always say is, I like look at people who have kids on Instagram who have type 1 diabetes, and they're like, two years old and five years old. And I'm like, If that little baby can have a smile on his or her face, I can get through my life. It's going to be okay.

[00:33:26] Rob Howe: Yeah, those kids, man.

[00:33:29] Erika Cavallo: It's amazing. It's really inspiring. Even their parents, too. It's like having a child that's two years old and has diabetes. The parents are really the ones taking care of them, and it's inspiring to see that.

[00:33:43] Rob Howe: And for years, too. Yeah. Like it's not just a quick fix thing. And yeah, I think that's what's so, you know, inspiring about those parents is they really become like the type three, I think is what, you know, some people call them. Yeah. You know, and they are doing that until they're like, you know, seven, eight, nine, 10.

[00:34:02] Erika Cavallo: Yeah, and even then, like the worry doesn't go away. It's like parents are always worrying about their kids. I mean, my mom's constantly checking my sugar on the Dexcom app. But it's just, I mean, I said, I like to tell people, it's not just me going through this disease. It truly affects everybody around you. And I'm like, my personality kind of affects my family. Like if I'm in a bad mood, I feel like everyone's in a bad mood. So I'm just trying to be like super positive because I might be feeling the physical pain and stuff like that, but they're also going through the emotional pain and like going through this journey with me.

[00:34:41] Rob Howe: Yeah, it definitely affects everybody around you. I think I'm really glad that Dexcom wasn't around when I was younger or when I was in college so my parents couldn't monitor my blood sugars all the time. And I know that there are a lot of, you know, I spoke on the teen panel at type 1 Nation here in Dallas the last two years. And, you know, their teens are their number one question is, how do I explain to my parents that every day is different and that I don't always know why my sugar is high or low and I'm not always in complete control because they're at work on their Dexcom texting them all the time?

[00:35:14] Erika Cavallo: Yeah, no, that's definitely really hard. I think that especially being in college, I feel like it's very difficult. And like, I'll meet some people. And I know a couple other people at my school who have diabetes. And they're like, how do you do it? Like, it's so hard. Like, I don't get how you get up and go to the gym every day. And you're always happy. And you go to class, you try not to miss class, you still make time to go out and be with you. your friends and I'm like it's not easy but I don't I always say like I didn't really have a choice if I had diabetes or not but I had a choice in the way that I reacted to the disease and I wasn't gonna sit in my room and cry I was like I'm just gonna live my life and just kind of see what happens so I don't really like to complain about it I don't like to make it a big deal at all so

[00:36:10] Rob Howe: yeah and I think you know it's it's easy to compare you know it's like oh you're always happy but you only see a little bit of your life on instagram right so um you know it's it's that curated sort of uh aesthetic lifestyle that we live in it's easy to look and be like oh wow you're always doing cool stuff but you don't see it every day when you wake up in the middle of the night with a low blood sugar and have to go chug orange juice out of the fridge yeah

[00:36:33] Erika Cavallo: I'm like crawl to my fridge in the middle of the night like you forget to put gatorade by your bed and of course you have a low it's like nobody really sees that no one sees what you go through when your sugar is so high and you're just you can't physically do anything and I always like anytime people like my friends at college will be like oh I'm so tired I just went to class I'm like yeah I'm tired too my sugar was just uh 250 and I still got to go to class it's like Like, it's crazy what you have to go through and that people don't see. But you find people, like I said, that understand your disease and will be able to understand what you're going through. And, you know, you find some people that don't understand. But I just, like, don't really want people in my life that are, like, negative. Or if they don't understand, totally fine. I mean, I have people that they joke about it. They make little jokes here and there. But I ultimately know that they care, like, truly care about how I'm feeling. And then I have people like my one friend will call me in the middle of the night. Hey, your sugar's high. You might want to give yourself insulin. So that's definitely, yeah, it's good to have a support system.

[00:37:46] Rob Howe: And I want to focus on that a little bit because I think you've mentioned a lot of things about community and support that really tie into stuff that I really believe and have changed my relationship with my diabetes since I started the podcast. and you know but there are people out there that struggle and and feel alone and so I always ask this question at the end of my episodes um if you were let's just like paint the the context here you're in the airport and you got 30 seconds before they shut the door to your gate and you can't miss this flight but you bump into somebody who was either recently diagnosed or struggling with their type 1 what's the one thing that you tell that person I think the one thing that I tell

[00:38:29] Erika Cavallo: that person is probably I'm going to miss my flight and we can go have lunch together or here's my number and I'll give you any help that I can give you. I feel like I do that a lot. I find myself in situations where somebody comes up to me or I'll be at the bar and somebody notices that I'm wearing a pump or a CGM and they'll just raise their hand and you're like, that's a diabetic friend and me, I always go over and I'm like, hey, like I'll talk to them. My friend's like, where'd you go for 35 minutes? I'm like, it's nice to talk to people because it makes them feel like they're not alone because there's a lot of people that really go through depression when they're first diagnosed. Luckily, I didn't feel depressed and I felt, not that I feel lucky that I was diagnosed with diabetes, but I do feel lucky that I was diagnosed at 19 years old and got 19 years of my life without it. And I think for a lot of people that they don't get that. And I'm able to take care of myself, which takes a burden off my family, some sort of burden off them. So I just, I just want people to feel like they have someone to talk to, which is why I like publicly display on my Instagram that I do have type 1 diabetes and I'm not ashamed of the fact that I have it. And like, I wear my pumps and my CGM, like I wear it, I wear it proud. So yeah.

[00:39:57] Rob Howe: And first of all, I think you're the first person that answered that way that broke the rule and then dismissed the flight, which I like. I love, I love that the rules can be broken, of course. And, and yeah, it's, it's like, there's really nothing to be ashamed of. and I think that you know the main thing that I that I really want people to and my dog's now trying to get trying to get famous over here hey um the main thing that I want people to you know take away is that like you have said that there are people who are doing what you want to do with type 1 um and now more than ever they're accessible so um you know I can think of 15 amazing people right off the top of my head that you know somebody's like oh well I'm into this. Like I want to do yoga or I want to do fitness or I want to be a business person or a pilot. Like who do I, who do I reach out to? And I could just like point them to the direction of somebody who has crossed that bridge. And I think the more people that we have that are willing to

[00:40:55] Erika Cavallo: share that, the better off we're going to be. Yeah, exactly. No, I totally agree with you.

[00:41:01] Rob Howe: Well, Erika, thanks so much for taking the time and coming on the show.

[00:41:06] Erika Cavallo: Yeah, no problem. Thank you for reaching out to me and asking me to do this.

[00:41:09] Rob Howe: Of course. If people want to get in touch with you, where do they find you?

[00:41:15] Erika Cavallo: You can follow me on Instagram. It's just at Erika Cavallo and extra O at the end. I'm on Facebook too. If you want to add me on Snapchat, it's Erika Cavallo. I post a lot of things about workouts that I do and stuff like that. Or I try and post things about foods that I'm eating, try and help people if they're following me to see what I'm doing. And hopefully I could just help them or even give them an avenue to talk to me and ask me questions.

[00:41:45] Rob Howe: Definitely. Well, we'll include a link to your profiles in the show notes. And yeah, you have an awesome rest of your day. Thanks so much.

[00:41:53] Erika Cavallo: Thank you. You too.

[00:41:55] Rob Howe: Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly emails and behind the scenes content. And if you or someone you know has an amazing story to share, send an email to rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com.