LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man is teaching children all about Type 1 diabetes and insulin.
"Hopefully this will inspire people to do a little bit more research into Type 1 diabetes and so they can talk to these kids like they're normal and not broken," Matt Sohl, who is currently living with diabetes, said.
Doctors diagnosed Matt Sohl with Type 1 diabetes when he was 23 years old.
10 & 11 PM on @WDRBNews | Doctors diagnosed a Louisville man with Type 1 Diabetes when he was 23-years-old. Years later, he has now turned that experience into Insulin Kid, which is currently available on #Amazon. pic.twitter.com/YoHXPJmzCv
— Molly Jett (@MolJett) July 7, 2024
"I have seen a lot of books about the technicalities of diabetes like what the pump is what insulin is, but I haven't seen a whole lot of books exactly about the emotional aspect of it. So when you first get diagnosed, at least for me, personally, there is kind of a period where you're just kind of thinking like what what do I do now? So, that's kind of what I covered with this book is the emotional aspect of the initial diagnosis about like, what can you eat? What can you do? Can I just do normal things like before? And the answer is yes, you can. You just have to take insulin and monitor yourself a little bit more closely than the healthier people do. But you can live a normal, healthy life with diabetes," Sohl said.
With his wife's encouragement, he wrote a book called "Insulin Kid."
"For anybody reading this, the parents, their friends at school, their teachers, when they read this they'll understand that the kid might have Type 1 diabetes, but that's not a reason to treat them any differently," Sohl said.
"Insulin Kid" is based around a little boy named Jacob, who doesn't have a properly functioning pancreas.
The further you get into the colorfully designed pages, the more confident Jacob becomes, even willing to help his friends navigate the types of foods they can eat.
"Type 1 diabetes affects a lot of people and that it's not the end of anybody's life. It's not the end of normalcy for them. It's just a little extra step in their day during meal times," Sohl said.
Insulin Kid is based around a little boy named Jacob, who doesn't have a properly functioning pancreas.
The Louisville native worked with Jess Bolam, who illustrated all 27 pages in Buckinghamshire, England. They started the project last Fall.
You can get the book for $11.99 on Amazon. It went on sale June 30.
Sohl's wife is an elementary school teacher. She believes it is written in a reading level for children ages 12 and under.
To buy it or for more information, click here.
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.