Hope and Change for the Artificial Pancreas by Nathaniel

Hope and Change for the Artificial Pancreas by Nathaniel - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

Nathan Bosque
10168 Mackwood Dr. Lakeland TN 38002
bosquefamily@hotmail.com
831-392-6016

It wasn’t so much family or friends that motivated my future career choice, but my medical condition.

I don't remember the exact date, as after hearing that I have Type I diabetes everything immediately after was kind of a blur. I had been going about my daily routine one innocuous day about two years ago when I got a call from my Dad, and he sounded very distressed. He told me to meet him at the doctor's office as soon as I could. All he could tell me was that the doctor had said that he wanted to see me as soon as possible. About an hour later, I was told that my blood sugar was off the charts and my A1C number very high. We were told to go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible. I could tell by the serious expressions of the doctor and of my parents that something was wrong. My Dad drove as fast as he could to the hospital. I sat in the back and cried quietly.

The diagnosis was confirmed at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis — Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. A few weeks afterwards it was confirmed that my pancreas had all but shut down. One hundred things went through my mind, with confusion being the main feeling I was experiencing. I had no idea what really Type 1 diabetes was, so I was completely lost when the doctor explained it to me. At the time, the only understanding I had of diabetes was that it was something affecting overweight people. The next few days was spent in a haze, not really understanding what this all meant and knowing there was something wrong with me. I've heard that there are steps to dealing with grief: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The first week after my diagnosis I had definitely experienced isolation - no one else in my family had it, and no one that I knew had it. Despite the support of my family, I felt very alone. Very much like winning the lottery, but in reverse.

Once I understood the condition a bit better, I became extremely depressed and suicidal. Even though I was watching what I ate, counting carbohydrates, dosing with insulin, and seeing an endocrinologist regularly, I don't think I truly accepted my condition for quite a while. Acceptance and acknowledgement of the disease took a while, like I said, but when it did finally sink in, I felt angry. I mean, I was not quite seventeen years old. I was in the Boy Scouts, working toward being an Eagle Scout; I was a Junior at St. Benedict High School in Cordova Tennessee; I was on the Lacrosse team; I was learning to play guitar; and yet, I had a weight hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles.

When it hit me, I decided that my condition was unacceptable. A reality, yes, but unacceptable. I decided that I would not let diabetes define me, limit me, or rule me. I had a number of things to accomplish: going to college, getting a degree in Biomedical Engineering, finding how to beat the thing that is killing me. I'd like to add a final step to dealing with grief - motivation; as in right now, I feel very motivated. Ultimately, I'd like to add yet another step, vindication.

Growing up, I really didn’t know what to do with my life. I wavered somewhere between being a physician and a scientist. I would say that my disease has been the biggest influence in my decision. I have been accepted to Mississippi State University and will begin my studies in August 2020. I’m very excited to get going. So excited, in fact that I have enrolled in their Summer school program. I decided upon Biomedical Engineering because I want to study the promise of the artificial pancreas.

The pancreas is a jack-of-all trades organ that provides a multitude of functions. Its most important role is to secrete two main hormones that are vital to regulating your glucose, insulin and glucagon. As part of your endocrine system, it also produces distinct enzymes that to digest fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. It is precisely because of this versatility that scientists and engineers have been unable to duplicate all of its functions in one self-contained (and the Holy Grail, implantable) device. We of course have the artificial heart, and there is much promise lately with artificial kidneys. There is still much work to do with the artificial pancreas, and I want to be part of it.