My Journey with Diabetes

Oct 01, 2026 7:00 AM

Shannon Sanford

I'm a Navy brat, born in Balboa Naval Hospital (San Diego). My parents relocated to AZ when I was 4 years old, so I've been in Tucson for most of my life, with excursions to Flagstaff, Alaska and Australia. I love my hubby, pup, nieces/nephews, and working at Trader Joe's!

I've had Type 1 diabetes for 45 years, and that's too long for anyone to have to carry that burden. While I'm grateful for the advancements that have been made in my lifetime to simplify the disease, I strongly feel that the tools that we have are not great. I'm glad that there are research teams that are finally focusing on curing Type 1 diabetes, but I don't qualify for any of the current trials that are being conducted. After extensive research, I made the decision to buy stem cell treatment in April of this year, in hopes of curing myself of this relentless disease. I'm happy to share my journey with you today.