Forget what you think you know about beauty pageant contestants. The courageous, strong, talented and yes, beautiful women who compete for the crown are so much more than pretty faces who can rock and evening gown. The newly crowned Miss Idaho, Sierra Sandison, for example, made waves by wearing her insulin pump on her bikini during the swimsuit competition.
The idea to proudly display her pump, instead of finding some way to conceal it, came from a pre-competition lunch. While the competition director was asking about Sandison’s community service platform, the topic of Sandison’s diabetes came up.
“Since we were at lunch, I had to give myself a shot, and when she saw the shot, the director said, ‘Oh my goodness you’re a diabetic.’ Then proceeded to tell me about Nicole Johnson, who was Miss America in 1999. She actually wore her insulin pump on stage,” Sandison told E! News. “That gave me the confidence to get one, when I first heard about Nicole.”
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