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A young couple 3,000 miles apart found love in each other after connecting on social media over their shared type 1 diabetes diagnoses.
Zach White, a 23-year-old from San Diego, received his diagnosis in 2006 at age 5.
A year after his diagnosis, Zach began wearing an Omnipod, which is a small, wearable device that easily delivers insulin. “It’s the first and only pump I’ve ever been on,” he tells PEOPLE.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas makes “little or no insulin.” According to the Mayo Clinic. Signs of type 1 diabetes in children tend to develop quickly, and symptoms include weight loss, extreme hunger, increased thirst and frequent urination, fatigue, and behavior changes.
Although there is no cure, treatment can be achieved by “managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.”
Zach’s Omnipod worked well for him but it wasn’t until early 2024 that he started following Omnipod’s official social media page to keep up with information and see highlights from others living with diabetes. And on July 6, 2024, he came across an Instagram post that featured fellow “podder” Elise Scalfani.
Elise, a 26-year-old from Boston, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2011 and started wearing an Omnipod two years ago.
“Being on the Omnipod has just provided me with such peace of mind that I never felt on my diabetes journey,” she tells PEOPLE. “I don’t ever have to worry if I gave myself too much insulin or if I didn’t give myself enough.”
Elise’s picture on Omnipod’s Instagram immediately caught Zach’s attention.
“I really am not one to reach out through the DMs ever, but a beautiful girl with diabetes on my feed…I just had a feeling,” he recalls. “So I followed her account and I was thinking of a flirty diabetes-related line for the longest time and I ended up with: ‘Hi, I think you’re my type,’ insinuating type 1 diabetes.”
“It was kinda cute,” Elise quips. “But I didn’t think much of it at first. I just answered kinda laughing and said hi back. But the conversation just started flowing and it was really nice.”
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Despite living on opposite sides of the country, the pair exchanged numbers and talked to each other nonstop over the next few days. Elise learned that Zach was visiting a friend in New York City the upcoming weekend. So five days after Zach’s first DM, they decided to meet up.
“He actually changed his travel plans and booked a train from New York to Boston and he was here for about 24 hours,” Elise says, noting how shocked she was. “And it was just the best 24 hours.”
That 24-hour meet up quickly bloomed into a relationship and now Zach and Elise try to see each other at least once a month. The couple recently went to Hawaii together over the holidays.
They say their bond has been so strong primarily because of their commonality of living with type 1 diabetes.
“I feel so lucky to love and be loved by someone who understands me in that aspect,” Elise says. “It’s really, really amazing.”
“I think there’s this kind of burnout feeling sometimes when living with diabetes. So it is so special during those times when you’re feeling down to just have someone right there to connect with,” she continues. “And it’s incredible to have someone like Zach in my life where I can just call whenever and we both relate.”
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Zach adds that type 1 diabetes is “the bedrock of their relationship,” having a mutual understanding of their struggles better than others would.
“Just to be there for each other when our glucose levels are acting out of whack, it’s indescribable,” he says. “An understanding of each other like no other and it’s just an amazing source of accountability and connection.”
Although distance and schedules are keeping them apart on Valentine’s Day, Zach and Elise are inseparable and excited to celebrate their first one together the following weekend when Elise visits California.
“I love her,” Zach says as Elise blushes.
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