Diabetes in Real Life: Brynne-Leigh Marsden

Five years ago, Brynne-Leigh Marsden was an active 14-year-old. She was in a sports academy and excelling in her training. However, Brynne-Leigh soon began getting sick. Exercise made her nauseous, she was always tired and moody, and her vision steadily declined until she had to sit in the front row in every classroom. Brynne-Leigh was also incredibly thirsty; she could finish an entire bottle of water grabbed from the fridge in line at the grocery store before getting to the till. Her sleep also suffered: Brynne-Leigh was waking up to go to the bathroom upwards of six times per night. One day, while training in the pool, Brynne-Leigh felt as if there was a huge weight on her chest. She couldn't get herself out of the pool and felt like she was drowning. Her peers helped her out of the pool, and she started vomiting. Her mom was very concerned, so she Googled Brynne-Leigh’s symptoms and believed she might have diabetes.

Brynne-Leigh and her mom went to the doctor, where she took her blood samples. Within 24 hours, on November 23rd, 2017, the doctor called back and told them to go directly to the Stollery hospital and not to wait in the ER; she had called ahead and told the nurses they were coming. Brynne-Leigh had type 1 diabetes. Her A1c was 31% (a non-diabetic A1c is below 5.7%), and her blood glucose levels were 32 mmol/L. Brynne-Leigh was hours away from slipping into a diabetic coma.

“Living with diabetes is like living in a constant battle for your life, but you're blindfolded, you're missing a hand, and you can only use your feet to fight it. It is complicated.”

The next few days were a whirlwind for Brynne-Leigh and her family: they were deep into the diabetes masterclass about keeping Brynne-Leigh alive and well. The first hurdle for Brynne-Leigh was her fear of needles. Of course, there were no other options, and she had to overcome that fear quickly. Luckily, only 6 hours after her first insulin injection, she felt good for the first time in months. Five years later, Brynne-Leigh still uses multiple daily injections to manage her disease.

A seasoned veteran in diabetes management, Brynne-Leigh, explains, "Living with diabetes is like living in a constant battle for your life, but you're blindfolded, you're missing a hand, and you can only use your feet to fight it. It is complicated." Diabetes does not get easier. People with diabetes learn more about the disease and become more comfortable making the small decisions keeping them alive. Still, it would be easier to list the things that do not affect blood glucose levels and insulin sensitivity than to list the things that do. Every day, Brynne-Leigh is battling the effects of activity, food, hormones, sleep, stress, and multiple other unknowns on her diabetes. Each day presents new challenges in diabetes management, and the mental, emotional, and physical toll is heavy on people with diabetes.

“A cure would mean equal opportunities, it would mean freedom and it would mean life.”

After five years with diabetes, Brynne-Leigh has struggled to help her friends and colleagues understand diabetes and its impact on her and many others. She explains, "In my five years of living with this condition, I've struggled to get the people around me to take awareness seriously, so when I started university this October, I expected much of the same." For World Diabetes Day, on November 14^th, Brynne-Leigh was hoping to convince her class to wear blue to build awareness for diabetes. She knew it would be unlikely that many people would remember, but she figured it would be enough if her friends and family did. When Brynne-Leigh showed up for school that day, the entire class was dressed in blue. She was completely overwhelmed by their support, explaining, "they wore blue proudly and took pictures. Some asked what they could do to help. Never have I been shown such support from people who didn't even know me that well. I'm not ashamed to admit I went home and cried a bit. We all fight for proper recognition and for people to leave their assumptions at the door, and this group of film students gave me that."

At 14 years old, Brynne-Leigh was dealt a life-changing diagnosis, forcing her to accept her own mortality- something most people do not consider until much later in life. For her, “a cure would mean I could give 14-year-old me her teenage years back. It would mean for the first time in 5 years I could sleep through the night. It would mean I would be able to be pregnant without fear for my life or the baby’s. It would mean hope for the future. A cure would mean equal opportunities, it would mean freedom and it would mean life.”

Thank you so much, Brynne-Leigh, for sharing your story with Alberta Diabetes Foundation. Your bravery and zest for life are inspiring, and we hope you will continue to shine bright despite the diabetes-related obstacles in your path.