The Reality of Type 1 Diabetes: Jordan Keltner on Parenting and Advocacy

A type 1 diabetes diagnosis can turn life upside down in an instant—a reality made even heavier when your child is only two years old. Jordan Keltner, whom many first met more recently on Netflix’s “Love Is Blind”, went from shock and a steep learning curve to gaining a deeper understanding of a condition he admits he knew very little about at the time—and what it truly takes to manage it day to day for his son, Luca.

Five years later, with Luca now seven, Jordan has leaned into education and awareness—speaking openly about his family’s experience, using the platform he gained through the show and creating resources like his “Dear Luca” book series, which encourages children to embrace their confidence—diagnosis or not.

Now, he’s continuing that mission (including joining the Beyond Type Run marathon team!) while reminding other parents of one important truth: you don’t have to navigate this alone.

A new reality

Our story is probably very typical for someone diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. We had zero experience with it, and as new parents, we just noticed that he was drinking and peeing a lot. Then he developed this strange rash around his diaper area because he was peeing so much. We took him to the doctor, and he was initially misdiagnosed, which I’ve since learned is also pretty common with type 1 diabetes. I was at work at the time, but his mom took him to my parents’ house, and my dad—who has type 2 diabetes—had a manual glucose meter. My parents asked if the doctor had checked his blood sugar, and when they heard they hadn’t, they were shocked because these were all the telltale signs of diabetes. They checked his blood sugar themselves, and it was so high the meter couldn’t even read it. We rushed him to the emergency room, and he was on the verge of diabetic ketoacidosis. His blood sugar was around 1300 for who knows how long.

That all happened on a Friday night, and we ended up staying in the hospital all weekend. Before they discharged us, we had to take an intro class on type 1 diabetes, learning how to dose insulin and understand the risks that come with it. The training was helpful, but type 1 diabetes is so individualized that no one class can really prepare you for everything. We’re still learning new things every single day.

A thousand cuts

It was definitely shocking, but in a way, I was also grateful because it could have been so many other things—terminal cancer or other devastating diagnoses. I always try to focus on the brighter side of it. At the same time, I tell people type 1 diabetes is like life by a thousand cuts. It’s constant pricking, prodding, changing sensors and sites and giving shots. As a father, that’s really tough when your child is two years old and has no idea what’s going on or why these treatments are necessary just to stay alive. But Luca has always been such a happy-go-lucky kid with a great attitude about everything, and honestly, that’s been really inspiring.

From comments to cause

I was very diligent about staying out of the comments. I definitely got a lot of DMs with love and support, but comments just tend to be a bit more toxic. Seeing what my castmate had said was both alarming and troubling, especially since we had been hanging out a lot after filming. It was pretty hurtful to see him saying things that made me look bad just to gain the upper hand. A lot of people are just ignorant about the subject, but I guess that’s where I can come in to help educate and guide the conversation in a better direction. 

I never had plans to become an advocate or anything like that. I was simply telling my story. I honestly had no idea how much reach the show had. I’d never even seen it before getting cast. I just applied on a whim and shared our experience as it really happened. I’m incredibly thankful to Netflix for telling the story the way they did, because it opened the door for me to do advocacy work, raise money and be part of things I never imagined I’d get the chance to do.

Parenting in sync

It’s definitely made me far more organized as a person. I’ve always struggled with organization a bit, but you can’t really afford that with this—especially since we co-parent and have a split household. You can’t have two of everything, so there’s a lot of coordination and communication. It’s all hands-on deck between me, his mom and his stepdad. We have a group chat so everyone stays on the same page and focused on keeping him as healthy as possible.

Overall, my friends and family are very supportive—they all want to learn, whether it’s how to use sensors, understand dosing or just be helpful however they can. It’s a really strong community around us. Luca actually has a classmate at school who also has type 1 diabetes, and they’re going to keep them paired up. We’re not super close with that family, but we do bounce ideas off each other and talk with her mom.

Booked and busy

The “Dear Luca” series is all about social-emotional learning and introducing emotional intelligence at as early an age as possible. It kind of came about organically. I had one business that ended up closing, and I’ve always been someone who likes to start and try new things. Luca was learning how to read in kindergarten, and I thought it would be fun to create something around that. That’s really how it started, just a small passion project and a creative outlet. It’s still surreal that I get to say I’ve written four books about my son.

I’m also working with Life for a Child on a possible collaboration. There’s an illustrator with type 1 diabetes, and we’ve been discussing a potential book together. The idea would be a book that explains type 1 diabetes in really digestible terms, aimed at younger readers—though we’d love for anyone to read it.

Joining Beyond Type Run

The farthest I’ve run in competition is 25K. I’m more of a trail runner, and I do enjoy it, but I didn’t realize how big this event is. I guess I was a bit ignorant to that. I was telling my friends, and they were like, “Dude, that’s crazy.”

The main motivation is to raise money for treatment and care and to spread awareness. And of course, my son will be there so it’ll be really special to do it in front of him.

Father to father

I would just say it’s not the end of the world. The only real barriers created by type 1 are, I think, the ones you make as a parent. We’ve always been very encouraging for him to do whatever he wants. I think it’s important to be vocal in your community because so many people are dealing with it, and you would never know. Find your community first, then be open about your needs and struggles. Someone’s been there and done that, so you can learn from their experience.

Also, kids are like little sponges—they take in everything around them. If you have a negative attitude about it, that’s going to rub off on your child. So chin up!

From fatherhood to speaking out, Jordan has built meaning out of something that once felt overwhelming. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, parenting a child with type 1 or supporting someone you love—you don’t have to navigate it alone. Resources and community are available at Beyond Diagnosis.