It does not choose one based on age, race, gender or sexual orientation. It does not discriminate or come and go. One cannot catch it like the flu or cover it with a Band-Aid. But it does have a face.
That face is junior men's swimming and diving team captain Tanner Barton, who is one of the approximately 1.25 million people in America who suffer from Type 1 diabetes, according to diabetes.org.
Barton, a Dublin, Ohio, native, lounges back in his first-class seat as the plane cruises 35,000 feet in the air en route to Copenhagen. Many can only dream of visiting such a destination, but this will be the second time Barton has traveled there in three months.