A Jeanne Site California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside Latest update: December 23,
1998 Faculty on the Site. Staying in School with Diabetes An
Interview With Cookie, a Student Who Is a Diabetic Cookie
discovered she had diabetes Type 2 in 1983, and since that time
her diabetes has become progressively worse. Many people ask
Cookie, "What is diabetes?" The disease is so pervasive she
couldn't ever answer in one sentence. To understand what it's
like to come to school with diabetes, we offer a brief
explanation for how diabetes operates in our system. Food is
turned into glucose or sugar for our bodies to use for energy.
The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a
hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our
bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either does not make
enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as it
should. This causes sugars to build up in your blood. For Cookie
diabetes has caused serious health complication