Hello friends!

Welcome to my blog, where I will be sharing my thoughts on all things chronic illness (with a focus on Type 1 Diabetes), mental health, and self-love. I hope that by reading what I have to say, I can bring attention to what it means to love yourself, love others, and to have compassion in all aspects of your life – all things that I strive for on a daily basis to cope with life’s challenges.

I should probably begin with a little bit of information about myself….

My name is Ellyse, and I am 25 years old. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I come from a fairly large family, with four sisters and one brother. In 2009, at the age of 15, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and my life has not been the same since. However, this blog is meant to show how some of our biggest challenges lead us to our biggest joys. Speaking of, that is exactly how I met my husband, Michael. As a fellow type 1, he and I met online because we also coincidentally use the same insulin pump, the Omnipod.  We met in 2012 via Instagram, didn’t start dating until December of 2016, and met in person in January of 2017. We married in March of this year, and had our first child, our daughter Penelope, in August. I know without a doubt that my beautiful little family wouldn’t be possible had I never been diagnosed with a chronic disease. It absolutely amazes me, and puts everything in perspective.

In addition to this blog, I have a Youtube channel where I’ve been posting vlogs and type 1-related topics since 2014. I have videos about how being chronically ill affects mental health, and delve into some very personal anecdotes about my experience. I suppose for this space in particular, I want to get a little more into detail about my life, and supplement those videos with written posts which I am hopeful will help others gain a new perspective as well.  I will be going into detail about my diagnosis, and share some more personal bits about how my husband and my relationship developed because LEMME TELL YA, it’s one great story!

So, what is Type One Love exactly?

To me, it means embracing the positive side of this illness, and taking note of what opportunities and gifts it may lead to.  It means the possibility of finding love, with someone else, or even yourself. It means embracing the friendships and connections with others who share your struggles. It means being honest about how hard it can be sometimes, yet making a very intentional decision to allow something negative to be the catalyst to something beautiful.  We are one love.  

~Ellyse