#315: Raising Resilience: How One Family Turned a Type 1 Diagnosis into a Team Effort - Sara Jacklin
In this heartfelt episode, I sit down with Sara Jacklin, a mom whose son Mitchell was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at nine years old. Sara shares the family’s incredible journey — from early signs and diagnosis during the holidays, to balancing sports, school, and diabetes management without missing a beat.
You’ll hear how their family’s calm mindset, teamwork, and open communication with teachers and coaches helped create a supportive environment for Mitchell to thrive. From managing blood sugars on the baseball field to setting up 504 plans and preparing for independence, Sara offers real-world wisdom every T1D parent needs to hear.
If you’re a parent, caregiver, or educator in the diabetes community, this episode will leave you encouraged, informed, and inspired to see what’s possible when you lead with confidence and perspective.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- How staying calm at diagnosis can shape a child’s confidence with diabetes
- Building independence in your child without fear or overprotection
- The importance of advocating for your child at school — and why a detailed 504 plan matters
- Managing sports and activity with T1D (yes, even tackle football!)
- Maintaining mental health and teamwork as a diabetes family
- Tips for balancing parent responsibilities and creating self-sufficient kids
🔗 Resources Mentioned
- 504 Plans for School: Beyond Type 1
About the Host - Coach Ken
I’m Coach Ken Kniss, founder of Simplifying Life With Diabetes and host of The Healthy Diabetic Podcast. I help people living with T1D cut through the overwhelm, confusion, fear, and distrust in their daily decisions, so they can feel confident and live without consistently worrying about lows, their body image, or long term complications.
🌐 Website: SimplifyingDiabetes.com
📚 The Diabetes Nutrition Master Course: Start Learning
💪 Work with me: More Than A1C - 1on1 Coaching
📩 Join my newsletter: Subscribe
📞 Schedule a Free Call: Book Now
🎙 Donate to the Podcast: Contribute Here
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it helps more people living with diabetes discover the podcast. Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement and a reminder that they’re not alone in their diabetes journey.
Ways to Support the Show
- Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
- Share this episode with a diabuddy
- Follow me on Instagram: @TheHealthyDiabeticPod | @CoachK3n
Podcast Disclaimer: Nothing that you hear on The Healthy Diabetic Podcast should be considered medical advice or otherwise; please always consult your medical TEAM before making any changes to your Diabetes manag
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com