Every one of these has been asked of me at least once, most of them dozens of times. I'm answering for me, not for every diabetic in the world. For anything medical, your doctor wins.

Q. Did you get it from eating too much sugar as a kid?
No. Type 1 is the immune system attacking the pancreas. I ate the same amount of candy as every other kid in 1983.

Q. So you can't eat sugar, right?
I can, as part of a plan. I count the carbohydrates in what I eat and match my insulin to them, which is how my educator taught me. A piece of birthday cake is fine. A whole birthday cake is a bad idea for anybody.

Q. Will you grow out of it?
Nope. Not unless somebody cures it.

Q. Is that a pager?
It's my insulin pump. If it beeps during a meeting, it's telling me something, not paging me.

Q. Does poking your finger hurt?
A little. Less if you use the sides of your fingertips instead of the pads. After fifteen years I barely notice.

Q. My grandma had diabetes and lost her foot. Is that going to happen to you?
I hope not, and I work hard so it doesn't. People with diabetes do have to take care of their feet and eyes and kidneys, and I see my eye doctor every year. But good control lowers the risk a lot, and we know a lot more now than we did when your grandma was diagnosed. Also, maybe don't lead with that one.

Q. Can you drink?
That's a question for your doctor, and I mean it. Alcohol can make your blood sugar drop, even hours later while you're asleep, so it needs real care. I'll have a beer after a race. One.

Q. What does a low look like? What do I do if you have one?
For me: shaky, sweaty, pale, cranky, and I start saying things that don't make sense. If I'm acting weird, ask me to test. If I can't talk straight, help me get to my glucose tabs or some juice. If I ever pass out or can't swallow, call 911, don't try to put food in my mouth. My roommate knows where my glucagon kit is and how it works because I made him learn.

Q. Can you drive?
Yes. I test before I get behind the wheel and I keep glucose tabs in the car.

Q. Can you run a marathon with diabetes??
I've done two. Lots of people with diabetes are athletes. It just takes planning, a doctor who's on your side, and a lot of test strips.

Q. When will there be a cure?
I was told "in five to ten years" when I was eleven, so I stopped listening to guesses. There's real research going on, including work on transplanting the insulin-making cells, and I'm rooting for all of it. Meanwhile, I run.

Q. Why are you telling strangers all this on the Internet?
Because when I was eleven I thought I was the only kid in Oregon with diabetes. If you're that kid, or that kid's mom or dad, write me: [email protected].