On this episode we get to hear from Dr. Allison Ong, also known as Allie. Allie comes to us from southern California. Allie was diagnosed with T1D at 11 years young, almost 18 years ago. After falling ill and getting a glucose tolerance test, which she passed, six months later she was in full blown DKA with a blood sugar greater than 1,500 mg/dl. Soon to be heading to middle school she learned and began to care for her own diabetes shortly after. On this episode we get to experience the perspective from a person not only living with T1D but also that works in medicine. She see's patients of all ages, including kids that are type 1's as well as young adults. Her journey through T1D advocacy and medicine took her to grad school in the Sacramento/Bay area and to residency in Miami, FL where she trains in internal medicine & pediatrics (a field called Med Peds). She is passionate about urban health, adolescent medicine, and using writing and social media for education and change. When she isn’t pulling 80 hour workweeks as a resident, she enjoys indoor rock climbing, the arts, and writing a good yelp review. Some fun goals for this year include doing 5 solid pullups in a row (she’s almost at four), incorporating more art into her free time, and continuing to grow as a mentor for medical students and residents learning about diabetes!!

Allie states how diabetes and medicine are not separated for her. They are both apart of her identity. Allie shares that while at the hospital taking care of patients, her blood sugar can be super high at times.

She enjoys being able to talk with a lot of patients with chronic illnesses from a really empathetic and caring perspective. Allison appreciates honest and transparent content creators because it makes the process real and not sugarcoated.

Get to know Allie!

Follow her on Instagram @Allie_T1D

Tiktok @allie_t1d