A Spoonful of Sugar: An Interview with a T1 Mary Poppins

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down....

Well, unless the medicine is insulin and then you will need to bolus for it!

Mary Poppins is a musical that I loved as a child and still love to this day.  I first saw the show as young child.  It happened to be just at the time that my aunt and babysitter would be leaving and I would be starting school.  I sobbed and sobbed thinking she would go off into the sky with her umbrella!

This show has always been a favorite of mine so I was thrilled to hear that Mary Poppins would be coming to our own local theatre!

But wait... It gets better!

Mary Poppins herself has Type 1 Diabetes!

Ok, so maybe not Mary Poppins but the extraordinarily talented actress, Madeline Trumble, who plays Mary Poppins does.

She was kind enough to be interviewed by my own little Type 1 Reporter who loves musicals and thought that a actress with diabetes... JUST LIKE HER... was about the coolest thing EVER.

Sweets came up these questions all on her own.  And Madeline was so sweet to answer!

Sweets:   How old were you when you got diabetes?  Were you in the hospital?  Was it scary?

Madeline Trumble:    I found out I had diabetes on the first day of Kindergarten. I was a month away from being five. I didn't need to be hospitalized when I was diagnosed. I got really lucky! 

Sweets:     Do you have a pump or a cgm?  What kind?  I have an Omnipod and a Dexcom I call Dexie.

MT:     I have a medtronic pump. I had the same pump for years and years and then last year, I got a new one! I went from blue to purple! It was a big change for me. 

Sweets:   Do you have any friends with type 1?  Are you the only one in your family with type 1?

MT:       I'm the only person in my family with Type 1. And I don't have any friends with Type 1. I kind of am on my own figuring it out... 

(When I read this to Sweets her immediate response was "Well... she does now!")

Sweets:      What happens if you are low on stage?  Do you keep a meter and juice close by?

MT: I've gotten pretty lucky and have never been too low on stage. But I also don't have a lot of time to test my blood sugar or drink juice, so I have to be really careful in the moments I do have. I have to eat good carbs before the show and at intermission. There are juice boxes on either side of the stage, and the whole cast and crew know I have diabetes, so there's always someone to help hand me a juice box if I need it. 

Sweets:     Do you test your blood sugar a lot?

MT: I've been testing a lot more since I've started the show. I have to be really careful, because the show is too hard on my body even when I have good blood sugar. 

Sweets:      What happens if you get sick (she means diabetes sick - not "real people" sick) when you are traveling?  Do you have a special doctor you go to?

MT: I don't have a doctor on the road. I have a doctor at home that I correspond with. But I've had diabetes for almost 20 years, so I know all the inns and outs and am pretty good at monitoring by myself. 

Sweets:     Was it hard to become a singer and actor with diabetes?

MT: No! I've had diabetes for so long, I don't remember life without it. Diabetes has always been a part of me and just something different about me. It can definitely be hard at times and make me sad that I have to deal with something no one else in my life has to deal with. But it's never gotten in the way of anything I've wanted to do. Diabetes makes us more special- because it makes us work harder. It has never held me back and I'm really proud to say that. 

A big THANK YOU to Madeline for answering all of Sweetpea's questions and for being such a wonderful role model!



If you would like information on the show and to see if it's coming to your area, click HERE.

If you live in the Dayton/Cincinnati Ohio area and would like information on the show and getting tickets, click HERE.

And stay tuned...  Sweets gets to meet Madeline IN PERSON on Thursday and we are seeing the show Friday night.  I'm sure we will have lots to share!




Hallie is mom to "Sweetpea" - a seven year old who was dx'd with Type 1 in 2009.  To read more about Hallie, Sweets, or their life with diabetes, check out Hallie's personal blog, The Princess and The Pump!  www.theprincessandthepump.com