I was really scared when I found out I had diabetes. I hadn't ever heard about it and I didn't understand what they meant when they said I would have it 'forever'. I really thought that the diabetes would go away some day. My brother and sister thought it was really rotten that I was sick. Of course they felt sorry for me, but after a while, I think they'd had enough of seeing everybody only taking care of me all the time. It must have been rough on my brother and sister. Since then, I guess I'd say that my diabetes has become pretty normal for me.

As for my friends, that depends. In my old school, everyone knew about my diabetes and thought it was exciting. The kids were always looking out for me, making sure I wasn't sneaking food, making sure I was checking my glucose levels. At my new school, the kids didn't even know that I had diabetes. All of that changed when I took part in the -film. That was a great experience. I think that every kid with diabetes should have a friend like . It's important that the person knows what he's talking about. I would have liked to have played instead of Julius, but I am Julius, so now
I have a friend and an example for me. I really hope that the film and the book will give courage to kids with diabetes.

I've been using an insulin pump for a year now.

Of course I think the pump is really great because I can pretty much eat[br]what I want, when I want, and I don't have to wait or anything like that.

I say 'pretty much' because I can only eat when my blood glucose levels are ok; otherwise I have to make a correction and wait. I can feel when my levels go down – I get headaches and go dizzy. Really low levels, like 1,3 mmol/l (24 mg/DL), I can't feel any more, though. At that point I don't feel anything any more. I've never fainted, though. Sometimes when I'm doing sports, I take off the pump. And yes, I put in my catheter by myself. For me diabetes means checking and injecting regularly. It also means being careful how many carbohydrates and fruits I eat.

My advice to you: Don't let diabetes get you down – it's not the end of the world, and remember:
You're not the only one who has it!