EASTERN HANCOCK — When Zoe White was five years old, she learned she had type 1 diabetes. The youngster admitted at first she was “a little scared” because she didn’t know exactly what the diagnosis would mean.
Two years later, thanks to special partnerships inside Eastern Hancock Elementary School and outside of school with the IUPUI women’s volleyball team, Zoe has learned that a diagnosis of diabetes, while dangerous, is not so scary after all.
The 7-year-old is now a first grader at EHES and has used her diagnosis for good, helping others learn about diabetes. She’s shared her story with the children in her class as well as with adults to let them know those affected can lead full lives despite the diagnosis.
The number of Americans living with diabetes is on the rise, officials say. November is National Diabetes Month, a time to help bring awareness to the issue. Analysts found the number of diabetics in Indiana has increased by 19% over the past decade, including a rise in cases for children.
One of the toughest challenges Zoe faced after getting her diagnosis was learning how to take care of herself. Her mother, Jenna White, said the first shot took nearly three hours to administer, but now it’s all second nature.
“It was hard to take shots, but I learned to do it myself,” Zoe said.
Zoe, who used to shy away from talking about having diabetics, is no longer afraid to do so. School officials have teamed Zoe up with a classmate, Cooper Youngklaus, who keeps an eye on Zoe during the the school day and has been trained to get her help should she have issues while at school.
“He knows if Zoe should pass out, the first thing he is supposed to do is run and get help,” White said. “We’re very thankful for Cooper.”
Plus, there is a special program called Team Impact, a relationship outside of school with college athletes who have helped bring Zoe out of her shell.
Zoe qualified to be a part of Team Impact, an organization that matches children with chronic ailments to collegiate sports teams. They matched Zoe, a patient at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent, with the IUPUI volleyball team as an honorary member.
“I met half the team at Starbucks one day,” Zoe said. “I was excited to join their team.”
In addition to going to meet the team, she gets to continue to hang out both pre- and postgame and is an official team member for the next two years. Zoe signed an official letter of intent to be a member of the IUPUI Jags volleyball team this past September.
“It was neat,” Zoe said of her signing day.
“Zoe brings a spark of energy to the gym and has a great passion for the game of volleyball,” said head coach Lindsey Froehlich. “She is smart and engaging and we are looking forward to seeing her energy and confidence during our practices and matches.”
After her signing, she was given an official IUPUI volleyball uniform, followed by a press conference with her parents, head coach Froehlich and several members of the IUPUI volleyball team.
Zoe’s mom, who is also a diabetic, happens to be the executive director of Diabetes Youth Foundation of Indiana. She works to make sure Indiana youth who are afflicted are able to adjust and live as close to normal lives as possible. While White said she was always concerned Zoe might one day develop diabetes like she did, she said getting Zoe a classmate at school to keep an eye on her and connecting Zoe with Team Impact have made a huge difference in the young girl’s life.
“As part of Team Impact, she got to go into the locker room which was her favorite because they do dance parties there getting pumped up for their games,” White said. “We feel absolutely blessed that she is a part of this and it has given her lots of confidence.”
Zoe even shared the experiences she’s having with the IUPUI volleyball team with the Eastern Hancock school board and her classmates.
“I am so excited to be a Jaguar and cheer for my new team,” Zoe told the board at a recent meeting.
White said that, when the school year started, Zoe didn’t like to talk about having diabetes or the equipment and medicine she needs to carry. But after sharing her challenges with the IUPUI team, the young ladies there talked with Zoe about diabetes and asked her all kinds of questions to help her feel more comfortable. That confidence carried over into Zoe having more strength to open up at school and share the diagnosis with her classmates.
“She’s gotten up in front of her class and talked all about it and is doing so much more,” White said. “She’s gone from fear to ‘I can do this’ and it’s been absolutely amazing to watch this transformation.”
As the executive director of Diabetes Youth Foundation of Indiana, White organizes and runs a summer camp for children with diabetes and said Zoe is happy now because she too gets to attend the camp.
“She used to come to the camp and help clean up and set things up, but now she attends and we look at that as sort of a silver lining,” White said. “We’re just trying to make the good outweigh the bad with this diagnosis.”
Zoe said she hopes to continue learning about diabetes and how to handle her health challenge because she hopes to one day be on a volleyball team and play.
That, Zoe’s mom said, is an “excellent dream” despite the diagnosis.
