As many as 3 million adults in the United States have type 1 diabetes, and about 30,000 more individuals are diagnosed with the disease each year. In 1999, I became part of that statistic at 11 years old, and have dealt with it for the 18 years since. Syracuse Orange linebacker Andrew Armstrong received his own diagnosis a lot more recently in life, as a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School.
Everyone deals with diseases -- type 1 or otherwise -- on their own terms. And for me, it’s only recently been something I discuss openly.