Rylee Arnold Talks Dancing With Type 1 Diabetes

Rylee Arnold makes it look easy. Whether she's sharing dance videos on social media or competing as a finalist on “Dancing With the Stars,” the 19-year-old exudes a kind of effortless joy that makes it hard to look away. What viewers might not know: as Arnold continues to live out her dreams, she's also been learning to navigate a type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

Arnold's health journey kicked off after a particularly rough week of dancing in 2021. She was only 15 years old at the time, traveling every weekend for her dance team's competition season. “I'd just come from a competition where I did not feel like myself,” she tells PS. “I was drinking so much water, having to go to the bathroom all the time. I was just off, and I was honestly kind of mad at myself.”

At first, Arnold attributed these symptoms to her busy dance schedule. “I was like, what's happening to my dancing? I'm getting worse.” Then one day, she went to grab some food after class: a burger, fries, a soda, and a milkshake. Shortly after eating, she remembers passing out in her friend's car. “I still didn't think anything of it,” she admits. With several dance competitions still on the horizon, she went to rehearsal afterwards but had to call her mom to pick her up due to some unusual symptoms. “I felt horrible. I felt super dazed and confused,” she says.

After talking to her parents, Arnold went to the hospital to have bloodwork done. “They told me that my blood sugar was 1,023, which for reference, it's supposed to be 80 to 120.” She was finally diagnosed with type 1 diabetes but still spent three days in the hospital for monitoring.

The diabetes diagnosis scared Arnold at first. “I was like, ‘Am I going to be able to manage this? Is this going to stop my life? Is this going to make me not dance anymore?' There were just so many of those questions running through my mind,” she says. But as Arnold started to learn more about type 1 diabetes, she realized she didn't have to put her entire life on hold — professional dance career included. She set a goal to make it on “Dancing With the Stars,” allowing her diagnosis to motivate her rather than discourage her. “I was like, ‘I have to make this happen,'” she says.

“People with type 1 diabetes are so mentally strong and powerful.”

While training, she started off with constant finger pricks but has since upgraded to the Dexcom glucose monitor to keep a closer eye on her glucose levels. “It helps me in my dancing. Like on tour right now, I go on stage and I can come off and look at my phone and know exactly what my glucose level is,” Arnold says. “I keep snacks on the side of the stage, I keep juice on the side of the stage, and I am on high alert of my glucose levels at all times.”

This careful monitoring is what enables Arnold to dance, tour, and travel the way she's always dreamed of. But having to pay such close attention to your health can take a toll, too. “It's not all sunshine and rainbows,” she says. “Some days I'm like, ‘I can't do this. The last thing I want to do is look at my glucose levels again, give myself a shot, or worry about if I can eat this snack.'”

On those tougher days, Arnold thinks about the people watching her compete on the “Dancing With the Stars” stage. She hopes viewers see her and realize that you can still achieve big things while living with type 1. “It does not have to stop your life whatsoever,” she says. “People with type 1 diabetes are so mentally strong and powerful because we have something that we go through and that we have to push through every day mentally and physically. We're given special gifts because of our type 1. So let's use them.”

Chandler Plante (she/her) is an assistant health and fitness editor for PS. She has over four years of professional journalism experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group.