Emilee Herringshaw: Type 1 Diabetes Success Story
Emilee was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at two years old. She graduated from UMass Chan Medical School in the Class of 2024 with her MD and MBA. The dual degree program helps students develop a medicine mindset and apply it to research or patient care. She is continuing her medical training as a Dermatology resident at UMass Memorial. Her goal is to provide a better health care experience for patients, and she will apply what she’s learned living with T1D.
During her final year at the Medical School, Emilee created a study designed to evaluate skin reactions to specific models of continuous glucose monitors and to investigate potential solutions.
She received diabetes care at various places throughout Massachusetts, growing up in Western Mass, then attending Boston College. Emilee appreciates the comprehensive team approach to diabetes care offered at the UMass Memorial. "Dr. [David] Harlan was not only my endocrinologist, but he was a mentor throughout medical school.” Emilee has also taken advantage of diabetes education and behavioral healthcare at Worcester’s UMass DCOE. “These are the best diabetes providers I’ve ever had, because they’re the first providers to ever listen to me and value my input when it comes to my treatment and care plan.”
Growing up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Emilee enjoyed playing field hockey, running and working out. She still runs nearly every day and stays active in the gym. She’s thankful for the diabetes management technology that has improved over the past decade, helping to keep her blood glucose in target range during various situations. The transition to medical school was a major change in lifestyle for her. Working with one of the behavioral health specialists at UMass Memorial was helpful, and she believes it will help her with future transitions during her life.
While Emilee has always been “diligent and persistent” in managing her diabetes and has a strong support system, the mental aspect of learning how to integrate it into everyday life has been challenging. “My personality likes to do something and finish it, but that’s not how diabetes works,” she said. During her teenage years and throughout most of her college career, she opted not to discuss her diabetes with others because she didn’t feel it would be met with the level of understanding that would make her comfortable.
Today, Emilee engages in creative writing about her diabetes. She authors a blog called Two Cookies at Midnight. This reflective piece, called Blood Glucose Management: the Over-Under was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine