“I am so grateful to live a happy and healthy life”

Brec Bassinger is an incredible actress and genuinely phenomenal human being. Yesterday was a special day for her, and she posted this photo to Instagram:

“Enjoy this makeup-free, contact-free, bed head picture because today is a special day,” she shared. “January 22, 9 years ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I am so grateful to live a happy and healthy life. That being said, I made a wish on that candle. And I think there is no question what that wish was. #typeonetotypenone. Thank you mom for helping me celebrate this day ? Xo.”

That’s right – at just eight years old, Brec learned that she has diabetes, a disease that impacts how her body uses glucose, the body’s main source of fuel. After you eat, glucose from the food enters your bloodstream and your pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, which helps the glucose get to your cells and become energy. For people with Type 1 diabetes, their pancreas can’t produce insulin, which causes health problems. 

Brec remembers the moments that led to her diagnosis. “My grandma, mom and I had taken a trip, so it was just the three of us together in a hotel room,” she says.

“I wasn’t acting like myself, I was drinking so much water, and I’d lost a lot of weight very quickly. I was very moody, and that was very unlike me. My mom went online and everything pointed to Type 1 diabetes, so we went to the doctor and pretty much knew what the result was going to be.” Her mom’s prediction was correct, and Brec spent five days in the hospital. 

Nine years later, Brec’s not only learned to manage her diabetes, she’s also become an advocate for spreading awareness and informing others about the disease. 

Brec is an ambassador for JDRF, an organization that funds Type 1 diabetes research. “I think it’s really important to find a diabetes friend or community,” she says. “It really helps to know that other people are going through the same struggles and and thinking about diabetes like you are. I really like the mantra: You are not alone.” 

Watch Brec’s tremendously inspiring YSBnow cover story below: