
MEET TYPE 1 KID MARGAUX
Clip: Season 21 Episode 1 | 4m 41sVideo has Closed Captions
Eight-year-old Margaux lives with type one diabetes.
Eight-year-old Margaux lives with type one diabetes. She and her mom gave us a glimpse into what it’s like living daily with this disease.
Health Matters: Television for Life is a local public television program presented by KSPS PBS

MEET TYPE 1 KID MARGAUX
Clip: Season 21 Episode 1 | 4m 41sVideo has Closed Captions
Eight-year-old Margaux lives with type one diabetes. She and her mom gave us a glimpse into what it’s like living daily with this disease.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMargaux Forestrum is adorable and she'll tell you, she gets along with everyone.
I'm outgoing and sweet and kind, some people kinda like me as a friend.
Along with making people smile, she also likes to color.
My mom says I'm a really great artist.
Rave art reviews from mom are just part of being a normal kid, right?
I'm like a normal kid, but it's also kinda different at the same time.
That's because Margaux was diagnosed with type one diabetes at three years old.
Yes, it's hard at times and sometimes my blood sugar goes rollercoaster.
But other than that, it's it's like being a normal kid, but just a little... Yeah.
Like she said earlier.
Just a little different.
And while her diagnosis didn't come as a surprise, her dad also has type one diabetes.
Her mom, Adria, says it took Margaux's life being in danger to get the care she needed.
They finally listened and took her blood sugar and it was so high that the meter couldn't even read it.
And she was well into decay and almost died.
We spent the next five days in the hospital for her body to regulate itself.
She had to be on a drip of insulin and glucose at the same time, to help regulate and just get her back to what would be considered normal.
While Margaux is being treated, Mom and Dad had five days of diabetes education classes and meetings with multiple doctors to learn how to keep their now diabetic toddler alive.
And it's very different than caring for an adult with type one diabetes, because a child's body is constantly changing and growing.
Five years later, the Forestrum family has found their rhythm; a routine that considers diabetes with every step.
Being up all night to check blood sugar, being exhausted during the day to check blood sugar.
First thing in the morning, we check Margauxs blood sugar and give her insulin, and then we consider what she can or can't have for breakfast, where her blood sugar is at and where it's headed.
Then it's off to school.
There is a great nurse at my school who does take care of me.
That nurse is in constant contact with mom throughout the day, giving her updates about Margaux's blood sugar and insulin needs.
For the most part, I only need to talk to the nurse about twice a day.
Usually around lunchtime after recess, and well discuss how the day has gone up to that point and decide, together, how much insulin she needs.
At three, Margaux struggled to understand what was happening in her body and how to describe it.
Today she has the words, for example, here's what she says it feels like to have low blood sugar: Being low kind of makes you feel really hungry and when and the second you see a bag of candy, you just wanna chow down on it.
And for only being eight, she realizes type one can be an extra challenge on top of trying to just be a kid.
I'm still like a normal kid.
I can still learn fine, but it's also kind of hard to focus when I'm high or too low.
Which is why she's also learning how to care for herself into adulthood.
Well, at first, yes, I was scared.
And also for the parents it was really scary.
But I wasn't really.
I was brave.
Yes, I was a little scared, but I made it through!
Diabetes has more than a physical and emotional impact on this family.
It also strains the budget with the high cost of insulin and other supplies.
Sometimes we just can't afford to do things because insulin and making sure we have money for that is priority.
It's hard to save because insulin is our priority all the time.
We don't have a choice.
They need to stay alive.
Adria wants her daughter to grow up without being ashamed of her condition, hopeful that type one diabetes won't hold her back.
She's a kid first.
She's a diabetic second.
And Margaux, she has a message for other kids just like her.
Well, the diabetic kids out there that you are not alone.
That people are there for you.
And you never have to be worried or scared because people got you got your back anyway.
Video has Closed Captions
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHealth Matters: Television for Life is a local public television program presented by KSPS PBS