Ephream Jude George

I should be in control of my diabetes; diabetes shouldn't be in control of me."

On World Diabetes Day, we asked Ephream George, 3rd year i2 Data Science major at IISER TVM to share his story. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at 13, he looks back with pride at how he handled the diagnosis and the lifestyle changes that followed. While those around him struggled to accept it, with his uncle's help he found the strength to come to terms with the news and not let it affect his zest for life.

He led a balanced lifestyle till 10th grade, including an organic diet, regular exercise, avoiding stress, and insulin. As his body's needs increased, he had to up the insulin intake. Coming to IISER, he brought a fridge to store the insulin and is happy that other people also use it for their needs. Campus amenities like access to refrigerators, organic food alternatives, or a place for late-night snacks and drinks, would make life easier especially for people with such conditions, he says.

Life with T1D can be challenging. Hypoglycemic episodes might make you faint or leave you exhausted. There may be nights you wake up from tremors, and days you oversleep from fatigue, which may impact your studies or other activities. Still, the condition is not the entire person, Ephream leads a life as ‘normal’ as anyone else. Football is a big part of his life, playing on batch tournaments and crediting it as a source of motivation and confidence.

His family has always stood by him and he is grateful that friends from IISER and school were supportive and never treated him differently. He admits that he does occasionally feel a bit overprotected by his parents, "Right now, if I say I'm sick, they'll drop everything and come all the way here to make sure I'm okay. They visit me twice a month and bring me insulin, food, and other necessities. Even when I say that I can buy these items for myself, they refuse. But I guess that's just the way parents are," he shrugs.

Rather than patronizing and stereotyping, he adds, there should be more awareness and institutions need to be more inclusive of people with such conditions. He strives to be his own role model and one day, to launch a start-up.