Diabetic Teen
Angie Ramos, right, and close friend Maria Orozco look at the profiles of boys on MySpace.com in Angie’s room. Angie has Type II diabetes, which is more common in people over the age of 40. Angie kept her diagnosis private, except for a few close friends and her teachers. She wrote about it in her journal, but never on her MySpace page. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Angie, who has slacked off on checking her blood sugar levels, reluctantly hands over her blood sugar report to Dr. Daine Dreimane during a recent check-up at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Angie checks the insulin level in a syringe before giving herself a shot. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Angie gives herself an insulin shot in the stomach before dinner. The injections were a three-times-a-day ritual, which through diet and exercise are now down to once-a-day. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
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Angie, center, runs onto the football field with classmates during the annual juniors vs. seniors girls flag football game at Roosevelt High School in east Los Angeles. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Angies father, Gabriel Ramos, puts a necklace on his daughter at her 17th birthday party. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
While her friends hang out in her bedroom, Angie spends more than an hour putting on makeup and doing her hair before her birthday party. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Angie gets a hug from her boyfriend on the sidewalk in front of her home in east Los Angeles. In recent months, she has lost weight, improved her grades and is starting to believe that her life is getting back on track. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
