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FLORENCE, S.C. --

Donovan MacPherson cringes and mumbles, I hate needles, when his mom Kristina MacPherson mentions that he has to get a flu shot every year.

The outgoing 17-year-old with infectious smiles and expressive intonation loves roller coasters and isnt afraid to fly across the stage at the Florence Little Theatre. But needles make him squirm.

For him, that means a lot of squirming.

Donovan is diabetic and injects himself with doses of insulin more than seven times a day.

That has been the routine for awhile. Donovan was diagnosed with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, in the seventh grade. Hell explain to anyone that his pancreas stopped producing insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Every day for the rest of his life, hell have to monitor and adjust his blood sugar so it doesnt spike or dip to a dangerously low level.

Thats a tough nut for a teen, but for Donovan, the diagnosis doesnt mean playing the victim. That kind of attitude would go against his take-things-in-stride personality. Hes not going to be angry about his fate, a common reaction among teens with the disease.

Ive heard so many horrible stories about teenagers who just rebelled against the entire idea of diabetes, saying, Im better than that, or girls who felt, Oh, if I stop taking my insulin Ill lose weight again, Donovan said. Whenever I started thinking about it harder, I felt, you know what? At least it was me. Im going to take better care of myself than somebody whos going to end up becoming so sick and maybe not surviving the whole experience.

That includes doing his part to help find a cure for diabetes. This Saturday, for the sixth year, hell lead a team at the Florence Walk to Cure Diabetes. Donations go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which finds cures and treatments for Type 1 diabetes.

Fortunately for Donovans sweet tooth, the diagnosis didnt mean he had to give up all sweets. He can still eat the occasional Krispy Kreme doughnut, a personal favorite. But he did have to give up something many teens pride themselves on: spontaneity.

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Florence teen takes diabetes in stride

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Home » How to lose weight safely » Florence teen takes diabetes in stride