Diabetes,

We’ve been together for almost two decades, and while I never chose you, I’ve learned how to keep choosing myself and my dreams alongside you.

When I was diagnosed, a doctor told me I would never be able to compete at a high-level in sport with you. You scared me. You left me confused and unsure of what my future would look like. Thankfully, my parents were there every step of the way slowly figuring out how you could be part of my life without limiting the life I wanted to live.

You’ve been alongside me through countless training sessions, races around the world, National Championships, American records, setbacks, and some of the proudest moments of my life. There have been days when managing you has felt harder than the training itself.

If there’s one thing this journey has taught us, it’s that a diagnosis does not have to limit our opportunities or what we believe is possible. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, but I’m even more grateful that those experiences have given us a platform to show others living with Type 1 diabetes what is possible.

We have learned to navigate this life together and become an incredible team. After everything we’ve been through, I know there’s still so much more ahead of us.

Forever and always,

Mandy