Navigating a Great Life While Managing Type 1 Diabetes and ADHD

Susan Striegel  

October 12, 2024

Today's blog features my daughter, Kate. Kate is a 22 year-old college senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering here at the University of Akron. And she is also one of the hardest working humans I know. Kate’s life isn’t easy. She has Type 1 Diabetes and ADHD, but has managed to excel in a demanding field. Recently, she invented a drug delivery system that has received multiple awards not only here at Akron, but at other Universities as well. She was invited by her department to get her PhD and continue her research on the device. This will begin in January, after she and I graduate together in December. 

Kate spends her days as a learning assistant for two sections of Human Anatomy and a Biology class, while also managing her last two classes, tutoring multiple students in Human Anatomy daily, and she spends many hours in the laboratory researching and performing cell cultures, electrospinning, and polymer science within the biomedical engineering program to prepare for her PhD. With all of this going on, she manages to keep a good attitude and a smile on her face. It could be my awesome parenting…. But it’s actually that she is truly one of a kind. So how does she do all of this? Let's ask.

How do you manage all of the responsibilities of being a student handling research, a learning assistance, along with your other responsibilities?

‘Managing the responsibilities is a tall order, even for me, but a few things that help me manage those responsibilities are thinking about each task as a quest of doom. When I have a research quest I have lab tasks such as managing materials, timing experiments, managing literature search results for presentations, etc. When I have learning assistant duties I like to make this a magical learning quest in the land of anatomy and physiology. For my classes, I make sure each one includes a kuh-knowledge quest as I like to say, along with the regular workload. Making each responsibility into a fun quest engages me as well as helps those around me realize life isn’t just a bunch of boring mandatory chores where everything is serious, but a chance to grow even when we fall short.’  

What is the biggest challenge you have with diabetes, on top of your other responsibilities?

‘I think the biggest challenge with diabetes in academia is dealing with blood sugar regulation. Different days have different sets of tasks and challenges so stress can be high causing low blood sugars. My professors and the engineering technician of the biomedical engineering department have taken to reminding me to eat as well as asking how my glucose levels have been. I’d like to say I can manage it on my own, but I’m reminded that having support and assistance is necessary in adapting to my responsibilities along with my health.’    

Are there more challenges having ADHD over having diabetes?

‘As someone who was late in life diagnosed with ADHD I can say that both have their challenges. The diagnosis helped me understand why I would forget things or why I wouldn’t be able to take in everything going on in the chaos of responsibility. The biggest challenge with ADHD has been remembering that it's okay to slow down. My brain wants to run through everything I have going on, get as many tasks as I can complete, and always reminds me where I am lacking. It's been hard to step back from my desire to constantly be on the go, but I try my best to remind myself that everything in life can be figured out, and it's okay if I need to step back.’  

 What are your tips for managing your time as a busy   student who also manages a chronic illness while being ADHD?

‘My tips for time management are to make lists, treat task completion like a reward, and make life a little sillier. There’s always something that needs done in life, but documenting what needs done and rewarding yourself has kept all the responsibilities feel less stressful and way more rewarding. I also like to put a silly reminder or task on my list to help me slow down a bit. One of my favorites is visiting one of my professors who works with me in the lab. We take time to laugh and talk about things we cook or how he’s looking to get a new cat to deal with his chipmunk problem at his house or his fancy garage door closing app for when he has blonde moments like me!’

How do you keep such a good attitude while attending to so many responsibilities?

‘I tend to be overly hard on myself, which is a constant reminder I get from my loved ones, professors, and friends. I started realizing that life was constantly going to fluctuate and life is hard enough as it is. The counterweight I needed was letting go and allowing Katie to be Katie. Katie enjoys being silly, making people laugh, and using sayings such as ‘magical’ and ‘of doom’. Learning to let my guard down and be myself has been a major component of maintaining a good attitude and it has allowed those around me to be happier as well. For example, my students love when I make jokes in their human anatomy and physiology classes and have stated I breathe life into the class with my silly examples. My professors have started stating the department should be more magical at our lab meetings and the graduate students now call their lab work their personal experiments of doom. At the end of the day I hope my positive attitude and silly ways improve the attitudes and lives of those around me, as It would be hard to be so positive without them!’