When Sam Mazaheri was 9, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. That means Sam’s body makes little or no insulin, a hormone that turns food into energy.
“All of a sudden I had to manage everything he was going to take, including the insulin,” said Sam’s mom, Nasim Mazaheri.
It was frightening, she said, and it felt like bringing home a newborn all over again.
“If I give him too much, it can actually kill him, or if I don’t give him enough, it will eventually kill him.”
Nasim and Ali Mazaheri, Sam’s dad, didn’t sleep much, scared of the worst-case scenario.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition that can be managed with medication. But without insulin, the body can no longer move glucose from the blood into the cells and, eventually, will stop working. More than 1 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, according to a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.