Question: When were you diagnosed with diabetes?

Kat Robeson: In 1990, I was a child so I guess I was about 13.

Host: Can you describe this a little bit about the circumstances it lead?

Kat Robeson: It was over a Christmas I had noticed I was a drinking a lot of water and I started going to the bathroom a lot and probably in January then I got really tired I guess I was a very active kid and all of a sudden I were just like sleep all afternoon instead of going out and playing soccer and I was just unheard of so in February my parents noticed that I have lost lot of weight I have drop like 12 pounds and you know in couple of months so they took me to the doctor and they did the blood work and you know I guess those were very classic symptoms so they immediately checked my blood sugar and it was like over 800 it was something crazy yeah and then I was in hospital for like ten days learning everything.

Question: What diabetes-related eye complications so you have?

Kat Robeson: I would say my first eye symptoms probably found at 4 years ago so when I was young that I saw intensively you know oh everybody says you know you have diabetic eye problems then my vision was always 20:20 and always had very iritis and then you know boom one day is like I completely because my eye whether is blood in eye like I completely loss vision in my eye and I just freaked out like I went from perfectly fine to like always problem so like the first indication that I was even having any problems with my eyes were at the blood vessels I guess its exploded one.

I had a retinal detachment but then there is bleeding from the blood vessels leaking and they can fix that with laser and surgeries kind of fix it, you know patch it out get it you know the my vision never came back to 20:20 and then in my right eye as eventually and I think may be due to high cholesterol or something also I got a blockage in one my blood vessels in my eye which then who damage that thick nerves.

So I don't see out of my right eye, well that's all from diabetes and before that it happens the retina in the right eye had just I guess began to deteriorate or get tired like my vision was just fading and that well that something we could do about it like we try to clean up the retina, we had tried lasers surgery, we had done everything that you know really there was to do, there is no retinal swelling. I guess it was just the retina getting tired, then it is I don't know the medical terminology but getting one out.

Question: Has managing your diabetes always been a priority in your life?

Kat Robeson: Not like it through college and like right there after because you are young your are invincible you know you've got other things on your mind and you know got to get that this party are you know I had some alcohol and yeah that's sugary like that's terrible for diabetic filling your 22 or something you know that's not you don't feel like all these things are going to come back to get you, so there is probably you know from college and then the first couple of years after college that it was in a priority in my life that have been after that yeah, its you know I have back under control and I guess the damage that was done then is now you know.