Age: 12
Age at T1D diagnosis: 11

Charlsie is used to overcoming obstacles that would daunt most others. Though she is a congenital amputee— she was born without a right hand—today Charlsie plays elite basketball and excels at the violin. When she was diagnosed with T1D last year, she admits “The first few months with my diagnosis were hard. But I am starting to accept that this is who I am, a one-handed girl with type 1 diabetes, and that nothing is going to hold me back.”

Charlsie balances acceptance with action. She has raised more than $100,000 for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children over the last nine years, and in her spare time, she loves to express her creativity through writing and drawing. She hopes to one day become a research scientist.