GREAT FALLS — Thaymen Rolfsmeyer is a 12-year-old boy who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at eight-years old, and is continuing to learn how to thrive despite his diagnosis.
“From the very beginning I told myself that if we were going to do this we were not just going to get by we were going to thrive,” says Thaymen’s father Jeremey.
School nurse Erica Harp said, “Thaymen has definitely been one of our exemplary kids with Type One. He’s always very aware of if he is low or if he’s high or how he’s feeling.”
Type 1 diabetes has been one of the fastest-growing diagnoses in the country, and Great Falls is no exception.
“When I first started we maybe had one or two and now the fact that I can’t even give you a number off the top of my head is pretty it speaks pretty well to what are trends of growth,” said Harp.
And since his diagnosis, the advancements in technology continue to expand.
Thaymen has been able to upgrade from his original finger pokes and insulin shots to having a pump that will regulate and notify him if he is low.
Now that he has gotten older, with the help and guidance of his father, Thaymen has taken on a lot more responsibility
“He can now handle this [referring to changing his insulin] enough to be okay for a while, and he is constantly learning.” says Jeremy
Jeremy is happy to see the advancements in the technology for diabetics and looks forward to is to come.
“Technology in the last couple years has grown and has grown leaps and bounds and continues to grow leaps and bounds we have some really exciting things on the type one world coming up in the next one or two years where you know I won’t have to set the pump anymore I won’t have to count carbs anymore all he’ll have to tell the plumbers I’m eating and it’s about the same as I eat every single day and the pump will take care of it,” says Jeremy.
Since his diagnosis Thaymen has wanted to be an advocate for Type 1, and wants to share his story and information.
Here is a feature from November 2018:
Resources:
Resource Page: https://diabetesed.net/type-1-diabetes-resource-page/
Support Groups: Parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/165620186816092
