At the age of 8, Kelley Glanz began giving herself insulin shots after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, is most often diagnosed in children and young adults. The body does not produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar from food into energy needed for daily life.

Glanz, freshman in public service and administration in agriculture, was taken to a doctor after her parents noticed she was constantly tired and thirsty.

Glanz had only been to the doctor’s office once during elementary school prior to her diagnosis.

“The thing I remember most clearly about my experience when I was diagnosed was the doctors poking my finger. I was so sick of needles,” Glanz said. “I didn’t really think of diabetes as anything different at first. It just took me a long time to accept the fact that it was a disease.”

Glanz has had Type 1 diabetes for 10 years now.

“I have grown used to it and learned to live with it,” Glanz said.

Glanz gave herself insulin through shots before each meal for four years before switching to an insulin pump. The pump she wears is the size of a cell phone with foot-long tubing that connects to a catheter placed under the skin. The pump delivers short-acting insulin 24 hours a day to help keep her blood sugar on target. Before every meal, Glanz must enter in the pump how many carbohydrates she will consume.

Glanz must check her blood sugar four to six times each day.

“If I have low blood sugar I get weak, shaky and confused,” Glanz said. “I usually take Smarties candy or glucose tablets. If my blood sugar is high, I get tired and thirsty and need to take insulin to bring my blood sugar down.”

“A diabetic can eat anything they want, they just have to eat in moderations like anyone else and pay closer attention to what they are consuming.”

There is no known way to prevent or cure Type 1 diabetes.

Complications for diabetes can include heart disease, high blood pressure, blindness, stroke, kidney disease, nervous system disease, amputations and complications of pregnancy.

Glanz is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, which is hosting a late-night breakfast, called “Alpha Grabba Donut,” on Thursday to help raise money to support the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation campaign to defeat diabetes one step at a time.

“Diabetes is a large contributing factor to many deaths in the United States,” said Megan Clark, Alpha Gamma Delta philanthropy co-chairwoman and junior in kinesiology and health.

“It is important that we support diabetes research,” Clark said.

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2006, according to the National Diabetes Fact Sheet.

Today, diabetes is the most rapidly growing chronic disease with 7.8 percent of the U.S. population having some type of diabetes. The average yearly health care cost for a person with diabetes is more than $11,000.