Meet Emily, who is absolutely rocking her JDRF themed @expressionmedtape! "When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six years ago at age 22, I was scared by the thought of what living with T1D could mean for the things I wanted to accomplish, including having children. Two weeks after my fifth diaversary, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Elizabeth. The nine months that followed became the hardest, most rewarding journey of my life that no one could have prepared me for. Countless doctor’s appointments, blood draws, and testing. Constant monitoring, adjusting, planning, and sacrifice. Long sleepless nights and anxious days, tossing between guilt and pride as I wondered if I was doing everything right. Everything it took for Elizabeth wasn’t easy, but it was worth every worry, high and low, injection, pump change, and blood sugar check. Carrying her, giving her life, and becoming her mom wouldn’t have been possible without insulin, doctors, hard work, and the advancements that JDRF has helped fund in the years long before my diagnosis. Thanks to all of this, my A1C during pregnancy was 5.0% and my daughter was born happy, healthy, and strong. If only I could tell 22-year-old newly diagnosed me, crying and afraid in that doctor’s office, everything she’d go on to do. I move forward for Elizabeth so that she will never have to know this life and can one day say, “my mom used to have type 1 diabetes”." During National Diabetes awareness month aka #NDAM 100% of proceeds from these tapes will benefit JDRF and help us move type 1 diabetes (T1D) research progress forward! Head to jdrf.org/NDAM to learn more! #ForwardAs1