Hello, my name is Haley and I was diagnosed in June 2020. I am 15 years old and a 9th grader. I am really trying to find another person my age or very close that I can connect with in person. I know that it is going to be hard, but I really don’t want to be on the computer anymore than I have to. Is there anyone out there that lives in the Hudson Valley, NY? Thank you.
Sounds like you need a local support group. That’s a little harder to find due to COVID.
JDRF can connect you with an individual volunteer.
An outpatient class at a local hospital might be helpful.
“Diabuddies” might be exactly what you’re looking for although I don’t know how local that is.
JRDF had a teen support group in Rochester . I don’t know if it’s still running.
Might help to contact the JDRF greater NY chapter directly.
Might also be worth just calling up your local hospitals and see what they offer. Mine had both a class and a teen support group. I met some friends that way and learned a lot. It was really helpful when I was diagnosed at 12.
I hope someone there can connect you with what you need.
Meanwhile, we’re here if you want to talk. I know it’s not the same. But it’s a start, right?
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Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it. Nobody in my family has it and they don’t understand what I am going through. My parents are trying really hard to understand. Nobody in my school has it. I kinda wish that someone in my school would get newly diagnosed but that is just cruel.
It’s cruel to wish someone have pain. But that’s not what you’re saying. You’re wishing that you weren’t alone. That’s entirely understandable.
I was the only diabetic in my class, too. But I was lucky because my grandfather was diabetic. So I understood it and my parents understood it and I had a role model for dealing with it. Having the hospital support group helped, too. We could share our experiences, discuss treatments and technologies and just talk to people who were dealing with the same things. Groups like that exist precisely because they’re so helpful to so many people.
I’m sorry the pandemic is making it harder. Hopefully with the vaccine we’ll be able to get back to some kind of normal later this year. That should make in-person support groups more common. (Everyone in the US aged 15 and up is now eligible, and I hope everyone takes advantage of that.)
Meanwhile, we’re here, as much as we can be.
I found those links just by Googling “diabetic teen support group” and adding terms like “NY,” “Hudson Valley,” and “Poughkeepsie.” Some of the top hits were out of date (listing meetings from 2015, for example), but if you click around a bit, you can filter out what is helpful. And it’s possible some of the older links still have working contact information. At the least, the nurse in charge of the group might be able to point you in the right direction. So try it yourself. You can narrow it down better than I can because you know where you are and how far you can travel. When you search, you can use your actual town, the closest city, nearby hospitals, or even just the words “near me.”
Good luck. And let us know how it goes.
Yes you got it. I will start looking today. Thanks for the information.
Hi Haley! Noticed in your post that you mentioned Hudson Valley, NY. We are in Fishkill and my 13 year old daughter was diagnosed just over a year ago. Let me know if you are still interested in a safe, local, in-person meet up and we can put something together.
Hi @haley4 Much like you, I was diagnosed in June when I was 15 years old. I am 18 now and was diagnosed a couple of days before my birthday in 2017, so I am almost in my 4th year. I have no family with it either, so like many others, I know what you mean when you say it is lonely and hard. I am sorry to say that your family will never truly understand, but for me, the expectation is that my family just be educated. It is hard for them as well, and we do need to consider that our families can only try their best, just like us. The truth is that you are not alone. I had 1 other type one in high school that I knew of and we never really got to know each other. I was very fortunate that my friends did not change how they thought of me when I was diagnosed. I had the same friends before diagnoses and we are all still close after graduation. People without type one, who can listen to you are also great friends. That being said, it is awesome to find people with type one. That is what this forum is, a way to make some. I have made several new friends on this forum and I am so fortunate. It definitely makes it easier and support is awesome when people actually get it.
If you want to chat on here with me, direct message me!! I would be happy to have a virtual conversation with you 