In December of 1984 days before her 18th birthday, Lanie Shari White was diagnosed with diabetes. She was enjoying her senior year in high school and had just gotten into the school of her dreams and suddenly her life would change. As her family was preparing to go on vacation Lanie was not feeling well and had announced to our parents that she believed she had diabetes. She had many of the tell-tale signs…excessive thirst, frequent urination, weight loss and irritability. One doctor’s appointment later and her entire life would change.

It was the mid 80’s and there was no pump,  testing kits were fairly simple and medication was all given through self-drawn and administered shots. It seemed like a lot of trial and error when it came to finding the right balance to keep her blood sugars stable and in a safe zone. The next 15 years would prove to be a struggle for Lanie. As she tried not to allow diabetes to control her life the impact that it had on her daily life from eating, to exercise, to work, to how she felt physically it was impossible for it not to overshadow every aspect of her life. She was with the best doctors in NYC receiving the best care but diagnosed with brittle diabetes it was hard to control the extreme highs and lows that were associated and often put her life in danger.

SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education) is a national nonprofit funder of overnight summer camp and college scholarships, creating pathways to potential through Camp, Classroom, College, and Career for children and teens from under-resourced communities who commit to staying in school.

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