Skip to main content

On Becoming An Astronaut


After my 6th grade speech at the
Mesa Public Schools Space Shuttle Simulator dedication,
receiving an award from the American Helicopter Society.
(I'm that goofy young one on the right ;-) 


Today is a big day for me. In fact, I have been awaiting this day since kindergarten. I have been preparing for it since 3rd grade. I have focused my life to aim for it, and somehow not be consumed by it. I have had many meetings which have only worked to confirm my commitment. I have never wanted something for so long, or so intensely.
And now it is here: the first time I am eligible to submit by application to be an astronaut.

It is kinda a big deal.

At least to me.

And while I am beyond excited that my credentials and mental efforts have brought me here, I am in another way preparing myself for the guaranteed rejection letter. It is truth that a sentence containing the words "Diabetes" and "Astronaut" will be quickly followed with "Disqualified" - at least right now. But shifting paradigms is the essence of my personal life goals. My kindergarten dream was to become an astronaut, my diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes when I was 11 forced a shift to be the first Diabetic in space, and my current dream is to chip away at the boundaries little by little to make "Diabetes" and "Astronaut" live comfortably in the same sentence - someday.

If I don't try my best to break the medical barriers of spaceflight, who will?

So it is a careful balance - wanting something bad enough to fight for it, but being reasonable enough to realize your inherent limitations as only an individual, a confined catalyst. Do I want to be an astronaut with all my being? Of course. Am I willing to stick my neck out there and fight the current? No doubt. Have I molded my life in such a way to actively change the ideas NASA has relied on for years? You bet your ass. Am I smart enough to present logical research and solutions? I would like to think so. Do I think the title of "Astronaut" is in my future? Well, I'm not so sure.

But I'm willing to try my best to find out.
Labels:

Comments

  1. ColleenFriday, January 20, 2012

    Congratulations!
    When you become the first Diabetic in space, I'll be able to say that I knew you!
    Good luck with the fight!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenSaturday, January 21, 2012

    Go April!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousThursday, March 01, 2012

    If i were you I would start in much easier tasks, like convincing the navy that you can fight on the battlefield with your diabetes. That has been done by one diabetic soldier which carried his pump while he was on his duties in Iraq. And if that goes well and your in the army, on the battlefield you could bring it to the next level. Trying to become a pilot in a hydro fighter. By trying to reach the sky in one step may be impossible. You should reach the sky by taking the stairs.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Who has two thumbs and loves comments? Nerdy April!!! Type one out and hit publish!

Popular posts from this blog

The road to curing Type 1 Diabetes

From the moment of diagnosis, the road is rough, the learning curve is steep and the stakes are literally life or death. The map is less-than-helpful - paths originating from virtually every corner, coalescing at a center point (aka "diagnosis") and bursting back outwards - some paths cross and wrap around each other but others are isolated. And even with all of these roads, most of the territory is uncharted - how did we all get here and how will we all exit? Where are the obstacles we haven't found yet? Which passage holds the key to unlocking the solution?

On any given day I feel pretty isolated with this disease - I'm the only T1D in my group at work, the only one in mission control, the only one in my family. I go through the logistics of calling insurance companies, ordering supplies, changing sites and troubleshooting malfunctions mostly on my own. Even those pesky carbs really only get counted in my brain, no group think for a meal bolus here. But there is b…
2 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »

On 20 years with Type 1 Diabetes

I think it's finally time to hit 'publish' on this post, considering it's been sitting here for, oh you know, like 2 weeks now ;-) Sometimes I "April" about things too much (this is Chris's term), and with my dad here for Christmas I realized that it's definitely a trait passed down, haha, love you dad!


To be honest, I never thought the day would come when I would say, "I've had Type 1 Diabetes for 20 years."

20 years ago a cure was 'just on the horizon' and as an 11 year old kid I took that phrase to heart - I had to. My continued existence was based solely on whatever the endocrinologist said - pancreas, insulin, autoimmune, blood sugar, islet cells, shots. I didn't know what I didn't know at that point. I had never heard of an insulin pump or glucose meter. Ketones and hyperglycemia were just big, meaningless words. Carb ratios and counting might as well have been formulas for travelling at light speed. I wasn't ov…
5 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »

Type 1 Diabetes - IT life.

Nine years ago (9 years ago?!), I was still waiting for the black-box-doctors at the FAA to clear my Class III medical certificate - a requirement for my then-job flying on experimental Army helicopters. To 'pump' up my diabetes-dejected ego (ha), Dave let me tag along with him for his MH-47G proficiency simulator runs. That tiny taste into helicopter flight dynamics gave me so much appreciation for him - hovering is literally the.hardest.thing, I was tense the entire time and constantly felt like I was one small cyclic movement away from losing control. Even though I knew in the back of my mind we were in a (moving) simulator, my senses got lost in the weight of the flight controls, the movement on the screens, and the hard thumps when I hovered right into the ground.

At the end of the runs I asked him how he has the stamina to pilot this monster of a helicopter for literally 15 hours straight (these special ops versions can mid-air refuel). He sort of laughed, but his answer…
2 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »
01 09 10