November 14th is World Diabetes Day, which raises awareness for prevention, treatment and education about blood sugar status diabetes. To honor the day, Dancing with the stars pro Rylee Arnold, 19, has spoken in depth about her diabetes journey for the first time. Here, she says Women’s Health told the story of being diagnosed at 15, how she manages the symptoms amid a busy dance schedule, and why she’s “grateful” for the condition.

I was 15 and in the middle of my dance season when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was traveling almost every weekend and was so exhausted. I had to pee a lot. I was super hungry. I drank so much water. And I still felt sick. When I danced, I was always told, “You look like you’re there and you’re not trying.” I was, but my body just didn’t do the things it was supposed to do.

I wasn’t sleeping well. I had to pee six or seven times every night. My mom and I used to fight a little every morning because she was trying to wake me up for school and I just wouldn’t wake up because I was so exhausted.

I thought all those symptoms were because I was tired from competing every weekend. I never thought I had type 1 diabetes – it didn’t run in my family. (Type 1 diabetes can be genetic.)

After about three months of these symptoms, one day I was at dance rehearsal and I got hungry. I took the ice cream. I have a Coke. I have a burger and fries – literally anything you can think of that has carbs in it. (If your body doesn’t have enough insulin, it won’t work properly to start glucose from carbohydrates.) I just ate. Then I immediately fell asleep. I was so sick. My stomach hurt so bad. My body was struggling.

Dad took me to the hospital. My sister Brynley was a nurse so she came over and checked my blood sugar. For reference, a normal number is between 80 and 120. The monitor couldn’t read it – it just said “high”. (If it’s over 600, the device won’t get an accurate reading.) Later, they drew my blood, and it was 1,023. It was so scary. If I had gone to bed that night and not in the hospital, I might not be alive today. I was very, very close to a diabetic coma.

I was hospitalized for three days.

It was the hardest three days of my life. Reality set in about how difficult managing this disease would be and how much it would change everything. Every 20 minutes, a new person would come and tell me something new. It was so overwhelming. My biggest thought was, “Will I be able to dance again?”

For the first two weeks after I was released from the hospital, I had a lot of highs and lows in my blood sugar. I didn’t have a Dexcom—a continuous glucose monitor-still. (Now I have one.) I was coming off finger pricks and insulin auto-injectors. There were many times when I miscalculated my food and gave myself too much insulin. My first “fall” was dramatic, because I had never felt that feeling before. I broke into a cold sweat and felt very shaky. It was so scary.

I didn’t understand how much the condition consumes every day. You can’t not Think carefully or your blood sugar could be very bad. If it’s high, I get blurry vision and low energy. If it’s low, I lose my balance and feel insecure. It will really, really affect you.

It took me two years to deal with type 1 diabetes.

I got one continuous glucose monitor and it changed my life. It’s a device that is inserted into my skin and reads my glucose level every few minutes through a sensor. Now, I always know my blood sugar through an app. It was so helpful because no one wants to prick their finger 15 to 20 times a day. Now I go on my app, look at my blood sugar, give myself insulin and then eat. It’s in my routine now. I don’t really remember my life before. I feel like I’ve always had type 1 diabetes.

It’s very hard to have type 1 diabetes while dancing because if your blood sugar isn’t in the 80-120 range, your energy will drop. It was very difficult last year when I first joined Dancing with the stars. That’s because when stress is high, blood sugar naturally rises. It was really hard for me to fight that and be able to do my job.

This year was much better. On rehearsal days, I’m constantly checking my blood sugar and making sure it’s in a healthy range, but I basically eat whatever I want. I always have fruit snacks nearby in case it gets too low.

Now, I have a routine to make sure my blood sugar is in tip top shape on show days. I try to avoid carbs as much as I can because some carbs can actually raise your blood sugar. So on those days, I try to avoid them at all costs. The last thing I want to worry about is going on live TV and having low or super high blood sugar, which would negatively affect my performance.

I also have a lot less stress this season. It’s not the first time and I have a great partner. Every time the app beeps to let me know my blood sugar is low, Stephen says, “Eat sugar.” It was so nice to have those people who really care about me and my well being.

A big misconception I had was that I thought I would have to diet for diabetes. But overall, I still eat all the things I love, I just give myself the right insulin for it.

My mother is my rock. I’m in Los Angeles during Dancing with the stars and returned to Utah. She has access to my glucose monitoring app, and if my blood sugar is low in the middle of the night, she’ll call me until I answer to make sure I’m eating. Once when I was in Utah my blood sugar was low but I didn’t hear my app beep because I was sleeping. He called me and called me, but I didn’t answer. So he drove to my house 15 minutes away at 4:00. She’s the reason I’m standing here today.

Type 1 diabetes put my life in perspective.

When I was first diagnosed, I had a very fixed mindset. My first thought was, “This sucks. Why was I given this book?”

But in the hospital, I remember looking for people who had type 1 diabetes. I saw that Nick Jonas had it. He lived a completely perfect life and did everything he wanted. I thought, “This can’t stop me.” Now, I want to be a person someone in the hospital can look to for hope.

Looking back, I am so eternally grateful for my diabetes because it was a reality check. It showed what really mattered to me, which was my health, my family and dance. I learned to prioritize how I felt so I could do my best on stage. I want to prove that it is not a disease that can prevent you from living your life. I really let that drive me.

When I had that first learning curve, I thought, “Rylee, this is your life on the line. These aren’t just numbers on a screen or photos you provide yourself. You have your life in your own hands, and if you want to live a long and healthy life, you take full responsibility for it.”

Type 1 diabetes is why I’m here right now. If I hadn’t gone through such trials in life, I don’t think I would have passed Dancing with the stars today. It made me grow. It’s crazy to be 19 years old and have the responsibility I have on this show. But because I matured quickly, it really prepared me for what I’m doing now.

Diabetes will only make you stronger in life. Let it drive you to achieve even more. Every day you live with type 1 diabetes, you are an advocate for it. When people see you wearing your glucose monitor, you show people how strong you are and how strong they can be in whatever life throws at them. It is a special gift.

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