Article
A dance with type 1 diabetes
At just 16 years old, Reese has worn many titles – dancer, rodeo queen, pageant competitor and national diabetes advocate. But the one she never expected to carry is the one that changed her life: Type 1 diabetes warrior.
Her journey began when she was just 10 years old.
The day everything changed
Reese remembers waking up on November 11, 2019.
“I felt like a ragdoll,” she says. “My parents thought I had a stomach bug. None of us knew my body was shutting down.”
A doctor told her family Reese was severely dehydrated, but her parents’ instincts told them something more serious was happening.
“She could barely sit up,” says Reese’s mom, Shawn. “Her lips were dry, her eyes were distant – she just wasn’t there.”
They rushed to the Children’s Health℠ Plano Emergency Room. Within minutes, a team surrounded Reese, and her parents asked the same question again and again: What’s wrong? Is she going to be OK?
Soon, her family met Abha Choudhary, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinologist at Children’s Health and Associate Professor at UT Southwestern.
The diagnosis was something they never expected: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) – an autoimmune disease that prevents the pancreas from making insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar.
“We were in shock,” Shawn says. “There’s no family history. Everything we thought we knew about health changed in that moment. But Dr. Choudhary and her team stayed focused on Reese, educating us and giving us hope.”
Learning to live with T1D
For six days, the family stayed at Children’s Health while Dr. Choudhary and the endocrinology team guided them through a crash course living with T1D – checking blood sugar, counting carbohydrates and giving insulin injections.
“They didn’t just teach us – they stood with us,” Shawn says. “They helped Reese face her fear of needles, listen to her body and begin trusting herself.”
Those first few weeks were the hardest.
“I had a meltdown every time I needed a shot,” Reese says.
Her care team quickly connected her to technology that could help her manage T1D with more independence and less pain. Reese began using an Omnipod insulin pump, a tubeless device that delivers insulin through a small pod on her arm. Soon after, she added a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to track her blood sugar every few minutes – sending real-time updates to her and her parents’ phones.
“The Dexcom gave us peace of mind,” Shawn says. “We could finally sleep because we could see her numbers in real time.”
When the pandemic hit, Children’s Health diabetes educators continued teaching via Zoom, walking the family through each step of setup, calibration and troubleshooting.
“They were always just a call away,” Reese says. “It felt like we had a medical family cheering us on.”
Finding her voice
Still, Reese was angry – at 10-years-old she felt like she lost the freedom to just be a kid.
That began to change when her care team encouraged her to connect with other kids living with T1D. Through Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), Reese attended an event where she met dozens of other children wearing insulin pumps and CGMs just like hers.
“I wasn’t the odd one out anymore,” she says. “That’s where I started to find my voice – and it gave me purpose.”
Over the past few years, Reese has turned that voice into action. She’s become a youth ambassador for Breakthrough T1D and created a community initiative called “Don’t Sugarcoat T1D” to educate families about early warning signs and the importance of early diagnosis.
She also wrote a children’s book, Finding the B.E.A.T., using an acronym to help kids recognize the early signs of diabetes:
B is for Bathroom – needing to go frequently.
E is for Energy – “having the zoomies, then suddenly crashing.”
A is for Appetite – “eating everything, then nothing.”
T is for Thirst – feeling thirsty all the time.
“Type 1 diabetes can sometimes be missed initially since some of the symptoms can mimic other conditions, like what happened with Reese,” says Dr. Choudhary. “That’s why it’s so important to know the warning signs.
What began as a way to understand her own diagnosis has evolved into a mission to make sure no child’s symptoms are ever missed again – a mission that took Reese all the way to Washington, D.C.
From patient to advocate
Reese represented Texas as a delegate at the 2025Breakthrough T1D Children’s Congress, where she and other advocates met with state and national leaders to push for continued funding for diabetes research. A highlight of her trip was celebrating the launch of the first T1D Barbie doll, a symbol of awareness and inclusion.
“It was about every kid who lives with this disease finally being seen,” Reese says. “We’re not just asking for better treatments – we’re fighting for hope and for a cure.”
Today, Reese is still dancing, competing in rodeos and serving as Miss Denton’s Teen – all while managing her diabetes with care and confidence.
“I’m proud to wear my Omnipod,” she says. “It reminds me that I can live fully. I have good days and bad days, but I also have technology, insulin and a team that believes in me.”
She continues to see Dr. Choudhary for regular checkups and is grateful for the care team that has helped her thrive.
“I’m so proud of Reese — how far she’s come and how she’s using her experience to help others,” Dr. Choudhary says.
Reese’s advice for other kids with T1D is simple.
“Don’t let it stop you from doing what you love,” she says. “Life doesn’t stop — you just adjust. What I thought would kill me gave me purpose.”
Learn more
Ranked as one of the top pediatric diabetes programs in the country, Children's Health provides expert personalized care for every type 1 diabetes patient. Our team is ready to help with all aspects of diabetes education, mental health and diet. Learn more about our Pediatric Diabetes Program.
SUBSCRIBE
Children’s Health Family Newsletter
Get personalized advice from Children’s Health experts sent straight to your inbox twice a month.
