When she was a young woman of 19, she found out she had diabetes. She was devastated and found she did not really know what the disease was or how it would affect her life. She was sure the disease would limit her dreams or maybe even make everything obtaining everything she wanted in life impossible. If she thought diabetes would forever limit her life, Nicole Johnson was wrong, and in 1999 she was crowned Miss America.
Today, instead of living a limited life, the beauty queen shares her personal struggles and triumphs with people in more than 12 countries and 47 states. Nicole Johnson (now Nicole Johnson Baker) has lobbied Congress and helped raise more than $16 million for diabetes research. She receives and answers thousands of e-mails from her website, www.nicolejohnson.com. She is a consultant and the American Diabetes Association and other companies.
To top it off, Nicole Johnson Baker and Animas Corporation, a leading manufacturer of insulin pumps, launched a website called Diabetes Heroes and a national essay competition. With the campaign, individuals who have demonstrated exceptional resilience or creativity in dealing with diabetes, especially in the area of psychological or emotional challenges, were recognized. Essays were submitted from those as young as five and those as old as 65 and older.
Nicole Johnson Baker is also helping others live with diabetes in another way-by eating right. Her third cookbook, Dinners in a Dash, was scheduled to be released last her. She plans to write two more cookbooks. The first would include recipes from the essay contest, and the second would focus on diabetes and pregnancy.
Nicole Johnson Baker was the first ambassador for the International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child Program. The Program advocates for children around the world with diabetes. She also works with state legislatures to improve insurance coverage and general healthcare for millions of Americans with diabetes.
In addition, she is a host of dLife, a weekly talk show about diabetes on the radio on CNBC. The show aims to create a community and clubhouse for those with diabetes and has focused on such topics as celebrities living with the disease, new diabetes therapies and products, diabetic recipes, exercise tips, and inspirational stories of those living with the disease. Her average audience contains 300,000 listeners.
When Nicole Johnson was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 19, she had reason to believe she might not ever obtain her goals, even if her fears were unfounded-many of her friends told her she would not obtain her dreams. For years she kept her disease hidden. It was only after a near death episode that she embraced the disease and decided she would become all God wanted her to be.
Today, Nicole Johnson Baker actually says diabetes is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. That is because the disease “has given me the gift of relationships with so many people.”
After she adopted her new positive attitude, Nicole Johnson Baker decided to try to become Miss America. Once she obtained that objective, she decided she needed to teach Americans about the symptoms and consequences of living with diabetes. She also wants to remove the misconceptions about the disease from the minds of people.
She believes her faith in God has helped her cope with the disease on a day by day basis. Nicole Johnson Baker has good days and bad days in dealing with her disease. She says those newly diagnosed with diabetes should aggressively fight it by testing themselves often, using new technologies available, and staying positive. She said the biggest challenges for a diabetic are emotional and psychological. If a person does not take steps every day to avoid despair, he can lose sight of the big picture and remained focused on the obstacles.
Nicole Johnson has a master’s degree in Journalism from Regent University and is pursing an M.P.H at the University of Pittsburgh. Her husband, Scott, has three children, and she lives with Scott at the children in Pittsburgh.
Nicole Johnson Baker has her own consulting firm, and under the firm works as a lobbyist and advisor for patient groups and biotech companies. She spends most of her time contacting federal and state lawmakers concerning diabetes.
The near death experience for Nicole Johnson was at the 1997 Miss Virginia competition. Paramedics had to rush to her room. Her parents were praying for her survival as they tried to use a glucose monitor. Her father rushed to get soda and orange juice to pour down Nicole’s throat, in a desperate attempt to raise her sugar level. The drinks mostly fell on her pajamas, and for 40 long minutes there was no response. Her eyes were open, but were fixed.
Finally, after 40 minutes, she awoke. From then on the world knew about her condition. She returned to the competition and finished 10th. The next year Nicole Johnson won the Miss Virginia competition and went on to be crowned Miss America.
If diabetes is not kept under control, consequences can include cardio-vascular disorders, kidney failure, blindness, and foot amputations. A diabetic’s life expectancy is reduced by around a half. One in two diabetics dies prematurely of heart disease. About 30% of deaths caused from heart disease are related to diabetes. Diabetics are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as healthy people. In addition, 66% of amputees are diabetic, along with 40% of new dialysis patients, and 30% of those registering as blind.
