I wish

…I could become a doctor when I’m older.

Shanthala Shamarao, 11 years old (Type 1 diabetes), Bangalore, India.

I think diabetes means sugar.  The doctor told me I had sugar when I was 9 years old.  I was drinking more and more water and going to the toilet a lot.  I thought it was because of the sun and kept quiet. Then I got stomach-aches, vomiting and headaches. My blood sugar and urine was tested and I was admitted to hospital because of sugar.  The doctor said I should control it and I shouldn’t eat chocolates.

Before this, I ate three chocolates a day. My mother gave me two rupees everyday for the bus, but I would spend one rupee on two toffees every morning. Then in the evening, I’d buy a chocolate and take the bus halfway home with the leftover money. I didn’t lie to my mother, I just told her what I did afterwards. Walking to school wasn’t difficult.  Now I eat one chocolate piece in a month. Sometimes I feel like buying chocolates, but I don’t.

I hate taking injections the most. My mother gives me injections twice a day. It can really hurt, and my skin sometimes becomes black. I used to cry a lot, but now I don’t.

My mummy and daddy always tell me “Sit still, don’t jump around” but I still jump.
I used to play basketball, skipping games and run races everyday. Now I play basketball just once a week. I play carom and chess.  I can’t run or play with the skipping rope anymore. I loved races.

If I get a headache in school, my friends tell the teacher and she lets me sleep for a while. She tells another girl to write my notes.  My teacher keeps biscuits in the cupboard only for me. She gives me four biscuits and sugarless coffee.

When I’m older I want to become a doctor. Then I want to buy a fridge and a washing machine. Then I want to buy a scooter for my Dad and a bicycle for myself. But most of all I want to become a doctor.