Brett Colavolpe

College Student Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Brett Colavolpe is the guy who always manages to turn lemons into lemonade. He was looking forward to harnessing his unbridled optimism when he joined the Marine Corps at age 18. However, just one month before he was due to report for duty, he was dealt a crippling blow—he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a condition that would prevent him from serving his country as he'd always dreamed.

“It was a tremendous disappointment, but I turned myself into a student of the disease,” says Brett, now 20 and a member of the soccer team at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut, and a part-time kids' soccer coach. But all the research in the world could not have prepared him for his experience when he came down with influenza. Unfortunately, none of his doctors had told him how critical an annual vaccination is to maintain good health and manage his diabetes.

“I work very hard to regulate my blood glucose level and my health in general, and the influenza symptoms were worse than any I've ever experienced—extreme sore throat, fatigue, muscle soreness, and raging headache,” said Brett, who plans to become a high school math teacher. “Unless there's a good medical reason why you shouldn't get one, if you're diabetic, you need to be immunized.”

Even though Brett's dreams of a military career are over, he still has big plans for his future and knows close management of his overall health will always be an important part of his life. As he continues to learn about his disease and how it affects him, he'll take this hard-learned lesson with him and make receiving an annual influenza vaccination a priority.