When, in late 2019, 12-year-old Izabelle Macht of Walkersville, Maryland, started drinking excessive amounts of water, taking frequent bathroom breaks, losing weight and having sweet-smelling breath, her mom, Danielle Macht, did what any other parent would do — she started to worry. So, Danielle did an online search to try to identify the cause behind her daughter’s new symptoms. “The first thing that showed up was type 1 diabetes,” she recalls. After a trip to the pediatrician and a local emergency room, doctors confirmed Danielle’s fear: Izabelle indeed had type 1 diabetes.

November is American Diabetes Month. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is the most common chronic illness in children and teenagers, with more than 200,000 people under the age of 20 currently diagnosed. And the number of cases continues to rise each year.

Diabetes is a disease in which a person’s body does not make or efficiently use the hormone insulin, causing the blood level of the sugar glucose to rise. If untreated, diabetes can lead to other health concerns, such as vision problems and nerve or kidney damage. There are two main kinds of diabetes found in children and teens — type 1 and type 2 — with most kids being diagnosed with type 1.

For Izabelle and her family, life changed drastically after they found out she had diabetes. Izabelle and her parents learned how to check her blood glucose levels frequently, give insulin injections, count carbohydrates and properly respond if her blood glucose level got too low.

To help manage her diabetes, Izabelle has routine visits with her pediatric endocrinologist, Sandra Salsberg, M.D., at the Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Izabelle now has a continuous glucose monitoring device that automatically checks her blood sugar every five minutes without having to prick her finger. The monitor enables Izabelle’s parents to follow her blood sugar levels remotely as well. Izabelle also has started on an insulin pump that provides her with the needed hormone more frequently throughout the day without needing injections.

Nearly a year later, the now-13-year-old Izabelle has become accustomed to the changes brought by her diabetes. Danielle says Izabelle is “doing wonderfully” and continues to live her life as she was before her diagnosis: playing softball, swimming and having sleepovers with friends. “She handled it so much better than I did,” Danielle says.

“Izzy is a healthy girl who has type 1 diabetes,” Salsberg says. “She and her parents are doing all of the hard work to control her diabetes. My job is to give them the tools to make diabetes fit into her life. Right now, those tools involve an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, but that may change over the next few years. As she evolves as a person, the management of her diabetes will continue to evolve as well, and I will continue to find the regimen that works best for her and her family.”

For parents who notice a change in their child as Danielle Macht did, she offers sound advice. “Don’t doubt yourself,” Danielle says. “If you think your child is exhibiting any of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes, don't hesitate to take him or her to the pediatrician.”

Izabelle, her parents and Salsberg are available for media interviews.