A week before going away to college, a first year student is supposed to have some anxiety. What if I don't like my roommate? Will I be able to handle the classwork? I'm going to be almost three hours from home, what if I don't like it in Boston? These are the things that a new college student is supposed to worry about.

On August 23, 2015, Elaine Baulsir had all of those concerns on her mind, but then had a bombshell dropped on her as well. She found out that she had been diagnosed with type one diabetes. Her Mother called to break the bad news. Elaine's reaction -- They're wrong. Not me. How is this possible? Aren't you supposed to be overweight, she thought. No one in her family was a diabetic, so how could she possibly suffer from diabetes?

"I was in shock, because this was something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life" Elaine explains. 

It's rare, but unfortunately for her, a genetic mutation saddled her with the life-changing disease. There was too much sugar in her blood due to her pancreas shutting down, but luckily, the doctors caught her affliction early. There's no cure of type one diabetes, but when detected early enough, it is possible to manage the disease and live relatively normal.

At 18 years old, you're supposed to be free and having the time of your life. For Elaine, she had to take a crash course in how to live with diabetes. She spent two days at the hospital in nearby New Haven, Conn. She learned what caused her glucose levels to be dangerously low or perilously high. She had to be a quick study on what to eat and not to eat and how much to eat. Her food was now identified by how many grams of carbs it had and the type of carbs at that. No more skipping breakfast, no more fast food trips to satisfy a craving. From now on, Elaine had to regulate everything she ate. She had to learn how to inject herself with insulin.

Who would have blamed her if she would have said the heck with school and just taken the year off? No way. Not this fighter.

Fortunately, her new school in Boston, Simmons College, was surrounded by some of the best hospitals in the world. The Joslin Diabetes Center was literally right across the street, so she was in good hands. Simmons  has accommodated her new way of life, providing her with Sharps containers to dispose of needles and she has made important connections with other students who are also diabetic.

"Being a freshman allowed me to meet other people that have diabetes of different ages and different experiences through different clubs," she said. " There's lots of a networking that they have to support diabetes – people with type one and type two, so that was very helpful. Back home I know no none who with type one diabetes. They don't talk about it. People don't know what diabetes is, so coming here it was really helpful to be integrated into the diabetic world and the Simmons community."

Over the next few weeks, Elaine quickly became an expert on diabetes and became hyper aware of what she was eating and how her activity would affect her. She also became acutely aware of what could happen if she suffered from an event. What if her levels got too low while she was asleep? How would her new challenges impact her everyday life at school or on the lacrosse field? It's hard enough trying to navigate biology class or get to know your teammates, but now she had this hanging over her.

She also had to get used to how her body was reacting now that her pancreas was essentially dying.

"It's something that affects me hard," Elaine says. "If I exercise vigorously and then I have low blood sugar, I'll be exhausted for the entire day, because it just wipes you out. If you have high blood sugar, it's just a lack of focus or a lack of ability to keep attention on something."

Her new friends made the jokes. You're not fat, you don't have diabetes. Isn't that the disease with the old guy from those oatmeal commercials? When her diabetes would sap her energy, her friends would tell her that she was fine and should just walk it off. For a student-athlete like Elaine she didn't look the part, so it was difficult for her friends to understand at first that you don't have to fit some kind of stereotype, that all it takes is a genetic predisposition that could occur at any time. This just happened to be her time.

She was no longer just Elaine, now she was Elaine, the diabetic. It was how people identified her and, by default, she was now a spokesperson and advocate for the disease. She wasn't the only one learning how to manage her life with diabetes. Her friends were also learning in addition to her family. They were conscious of asking how she felt. If her levels were low, they knew that a bag of skittles or a juice box might do the trick. They also knew that if things got really dangerous that Elaine's EpiPen, which was now a part of her everyday apparel, would have to be administered for a direct shot of insulin.

After more than six months, her daily routine has become just that – routine. Breakfast at the same time every day, lunch right at noon so that her levels don't get too low and dinner at precisely 6:00 p.m. for the same reason. If she planned on going out with her friends, then her bag of supplies also came with her. She always has a snack and is well equipped to handle any challenges that might come up in addition to actively taking care of herself physically.

Fortunately, Elaine hasn't experienced an event that has put her in peril, but she knows that it could happen at any time and it is on her mind.

"I'm scared that if I don't eat right or I exercise too much or any combination of both that something bad might happen," she said. "I might be asleep when something bad occurs and no one would be able to find me like that, so it's a whole new level of danger, I guess you could say."

 It's not uncommon to see the rookie defender step out onto the field with a stick of licorice in her mouth to give her a boost for morning lacrosse practice. By now, her teammates know what's going on. Some of them have coffee to start their day, Elaine just needs some carbs to get herself ready to compete. Her fatigue threshold can be reached much quicker than her teammates to the point that she just becomes exhausted, but she also knows what do to when she gets tired, which is half the battle. Her main defense has been her knowledge of the disease.

Since her diagnosis and seeing just how little people from her hometown of Redding, Conn. seemed to know about diabetes, Elaine has become somewhat of an advocate for the disease.

"Now having diabetes, it's really opened my eyes to how little people know about the disease and the differences between type one and type two," Elaine explains.

"I think it's very important to keep people educated for their knowledge, in case they are ever put into a situation where their family, friends or co-workers are ever in a situation where they need help, they would know about the disease and what to do in case something bad happened."

While her classmates at Simmons are still trying to figure out what direction their life will take, Elaine has had to grow up at an accelerated rate. She's had to become much more organized and a skilled manager of time. She's an expert on how to count carbs. With just a glance she can tell you how many grams of carbs are in a bowl of corn flakes and an apple. She can also tell you what type one diabetes is and what it's not. She lives with it every day.

 A Biology major, Elaine maintained very good grades for the fall semester. Considering she was learning about more than just her class requirements, who could blame her if she had paused her focus on academics to concentrate on herself? The second semester has its own set of challenges with a full complement of classes, while balancing her time competing with the lacrosse team. She's no stranger to excelling at both after enjoying a career as a two-sport standout athlete at Joel Barlow High School, where she was the Captain of the field hockey team and a member of the track and field squad. Not to mention her involvement with the school's Theater Stage Crew.

As she pursues her intention to become a Cardiologist someday, Elaine lives one day at a time and will soon have a year of lacrosse under her belt as well as two semesters of classwork completed. The Summer will be here before she knows it and so will August 23, her Diversary. A year after unfathomable news, Elaine will be a much different woman than the individual who was trying to figure out what to bring to college. She's much tougher now and a master at managing her day. Her perspective is shaped much differently than the typical student just finishing her first year of college. She's more than happy to educate others about diabetes, but being type one doesn't define who she is. Her heart, her drive and her perseverance does.

Elaine and the Sharks will be raising awareness, in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association's Alert Day, on Saturday, March 26 in their match vs. Rivier University at 11:00 a.m. on Winsor Field. Simmons will wear matching shirts in support of the cause and the ADA will be on hand to help educate others about diabetes. For more information about diabetes click here. The Sharks are also selling T-shirts to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Click here to help the cause!