Every kid loves Halloween excess. Roam the neighborhood after dark, clothe yourself ghoulishly and devour peanut butter cups and gummy worms.

But what if you’re diabetic?

“People sort of look at me and say, Oh, poor you. You can’t eat anything.’ They think it must be terrible for me,” says 13-year-old Harriet Low.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 18 million Americans have diabetes, a chronic disorder that makes the body unable either to produce or use insulin. Low, an eighth-grader at Auburn Middle School, is one of the country’s 206,000 diabetic children.

It could dampen Halloween, Thanksgiving or any other celebration that inspires indulgence. While family and friends are filled with Almond Joy and sharing Snickers, Harriet – an otherwise healthy, athletic child – might sigh and gaze wistfully at the Milky Way.

But Harriet won’t stay locked in her room, munching on pumpkin seeds. When the sun goes down this evening, she’ll be with friends, dressed in full, frightful regalia, scouring the city for treats with the abandon of a girl half her age.

Well-prepared

“It’s still fun and still pretty much acceptable that we go trick-or-treating,” she said. “We don’t do it as long as we used to. We might go to a couple of houses, get some candy and then meet at a party somewhere.”

There are precautions, of course.

Harriet’s parents, Bill and Kathy, have given her a cellular phone in case of medical emergency.

Mom and Dad also enlighten friends about the disease and instruct them how to respond if Harriet’s blood sugar spikes or dips.

Trick-or-treating isn’t much different for her than attending a soccer game, except for the temptations. Here, gumdrops tempt rather than orange slices.

“I have to be really careful about what I eat and make sure I’m with someone who knows what to do if there’s a problem,” Harriet said. “It makes it harder.”

Her friends know the drill. Doctors discovered Harriet’s Type I diabetes, the kind most commonly diagnosed in children, when she was 5.

Classmates haven’t known Harriet any other way. Likewise, she can’t remember a Halloween when unlimited chocolate was an option.

Tonight is no pity party.

“It’s just recently that all of us have been allowed to go out without our parents, so that’s a big deal,” she said. “We’re all like, Yes! Freedom!'”

To Harriet, “freedom” reminds her of insulin injections, which she used to take six times daily. They’re a burden of the past, thanks to an insulin pump that stays connected to her. Now the most daunting activity on Harriet’s daily schedule is checking her blood-sugar level.

“You get used to it,” she said.

Moderation works

And you learn to appreciate the occasional rewards of this freedom. Harriet says she’ll eat a piece of candy this evening. Maybe even two or three. Her parents encourage it because it should help regulate her blood sugar while she’s on her feet.

Her fuel of choice?

“Anything chocolate.”

Harriet is active in soccer, skiing and horseback riding, and she dreams of being an Olympic athlete. She celebrated when swimmer Gary Hall Jr., also a diabetic, won a gold medal at this year’s Summer Games.

“I always wonder how I’d prepare myself for a competition so I wouldn’t have an attack in the middle,” she said. “I don’t ever look at diabetes as something that would hold me back.”

A self-described “fairly good” student, Harriet might eventually put her knowledge to work as a doctor or nurse. Then again, she acknowledges, maybe she’s seen enough doctors in her lifetime.

Whatever the case, don’t let the thought of a trick-or-treating teenager fool you. At least one masked marauder is blessed with wisdom beyond her years.

“When I was first diagnosed,” Harriet said, “I was afraid my whole life would be vegetables and fruit. But it’s really just all about moderation and learning to keep everything in check.”

Kalle Oakes is the Sun Journal’s staff columnist. His e-mail is koakes@sunjournal.com.