Type 1 Diabetes and Aerial Arts

By Britannia Darby, 12 years old

When I was thinking about starting aerial, a thousand questions flooded my mind. Would a lyra rip out my site? Would a silk tear my sensor? Would anything snag my pump? I was filled with doubt, but hopeful that we would find solutions. Fast-forward a few months, and I’m performing in the aerial show. 

I started with silks, but to my surprise, the silks never really caused a problem with my equipment. I learned to avoid the site areas by just shifting the move little bit, and I now take off my pump so it doesn’t snag or rub or really just get in my way. Whenever I come across a move where I have to rub my arm with the sensor against the silk, I have learned to just always use a patch to really secure the sensor down. I have adapted to the silk and now it doesn’t cause me any problems. When I started lyra, I was very concerned that it would rip out my site, but I actually never really ran into any problems with my equipment. Momentum Aerial and especially Ms. Joanie has really helped me adapt to all aerial equipment, no matter the challenge.

Photo by Michelle Badger