Dancing with the Stars’ Rylee Arnold Details Terrifying Moment She Forgot to Bring Insulin on a Plane

Over a year after the Dancing With the Stars pro dancer shared her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, she detailed a frightening experience where she forgot to bring her insulin with her on a trip.
“Just got on the plane and went to grab some insulin from my bag cause my blood sugar is starting to go high but then when I looked in my bag I couldn’t find it ANYWHERE!” Rylee wrote on top of a July 31 TikTok of her nervously smiling on the airplane. “I’m now just realizing I left it at my apartment.”
In the caption of the post, the 20-year-old added, “Never have I ever done this to myself, at least it’s a short flight. Should I just drink a bunch of water or something??”
Despite the unsettling realization, Rylee—who placed fourth with Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik during season 33—gave a positive update just a few hours later.
“I’m alive and well!!” the dancer shared in a separate TikTok. “Got insulin right as I landed and ate a big lunch cause I was starving.”
She added in the caption, “The only problem is I’m super tired from the high blood sugar but it’s okay cause we figured it out!!! Love you all.”
For Rylee, going through these types of stressful moments have showed her a new side of herself.
“It’s a hard diagnosis and it takes a lot of time and just thinking out of your life, but I think it’s made me stronger and more mature,” she told Woman’s World in an interview published July 31. “I’m able to handle conflict and hard things in my life better, because I go through the management and just the hard things that come with type one diabetes.”
Plus, Rylee sees her diagnosis as a way to encourage others forward.
“It brings me so much motivation every day, because I want to be an inspiration to others,” she continued. “I want to be an inspiration to young people or anyone with [any] type of diabetes, so if it really gives me that motivation every day that I’m doing it for them and not just for myself.”