Miss Idaho, Sierra Sandison, isn't afraid to rock a bikini like a boss.
She's also not afraid to show off her insulin pump along with it.
On Monday, the 20-year-old posted a picture of herself on the pageant stage with her pump clipped to her bikini bottom, hashtagged #showmeyourpump.
The goal? Inspiring other diabetes patients to share their own pictures of their insulin pumps. Given how fast this went viral, many undoubtedly will.
"There it is," Sandison wrote of the Instagram pic above.
She shared it on social media became "diabetics from all over the country have been asking to see me and my insulin pump on the #MissIdaho2014 stage."
"I am overwhelmed with hearing how many lives have been touched by me simply wearing my pump on stage. It means so much to me, and I hope I can touch many more."
"Honestly, it is terrifying walking out on stage in a swimsuit, let alone attached to a medical device. Diabetes turned my life upside down when I was first diagnosed."
"Don't let your challenge hold you back or slow you down. Use it to, not only empower yourself and grow as an individual, but to serve and influence other people as well."
Sandison, whose viral photo comes just weeks after Bethany Townsend posed in her colostomy bag, says she took inspiration from a much older woman.
Bethany Townsend is an aspiring model. She has Crohn's Disease and is posing here with a colostomy bag.
Sandison says when she first heard about Miss America 1999, Nicole Johnson, who wore a pump during a competion, her whole perspective changed.
Crowned Miss Idaho on July 12, Sierra initially struggled with her diagnosis of Type I diabetes. "For a while, I pretended that I didn't have diabetes," she said.
Rather than being proactive, she was "hoping it would go away. That led to crazy blood sugars, of course, and a very sick, grumpy, and discouraged Sierra."
"The media often tells us this lie: if your appearance deviates in any way from cover girls, movie stars, super models, etc., it is a flaw and something is wrong with you."
"Well, guess what? Miss America 1999 has an insulin pump, and it doesn't make her any less beautiful … So, a year after I was diagnosed, I got a pump."
"It helped me get better control of my diabetes, and made my life SO much easier ... I have had a million new opportunities to spread the word about diabetes and overcoming obstacles!"
Rock on, Sierra, and everyone else rising above adversity!
