IONIA, Mich. (WOOD) — Brodon Bishop decided a while ago that he wants to become a pilot after he graduates from Ionia High School.

His plan is to attend Western Michigan University’s Aviation College, but he started to question those plans last month. His dad noticed Bishop was losing weight, and decided to test his blood sugar.

“My sugar levels were over 600 because that’s all those meters go up to, so we went to the ER, and they were 972,” said Bishop.

Doctors diagnosed Bishop with Type One Diabetes. His friends may not have realized it because, within days, Bishop was back at school, but his science teacher, Kyle Ondersma, saw how well he handled the news.

“He’s an exceptional student. He works really hard, glass is always half full,” said Ondersma. “He’s the student you want to have in class, the friend you want to have by your side. He’s the person you want to be like.”

He knows Bishop well because he’s had him in science class all four years.

Bishop is now using his love of science to better understand his diagnoses.

“I have to watch what I eat a lot now. It’s mostly about carbs in, so I have to count all the carbs and then take insulin based on that,” he said.

One big question Broden’s diagnosis had him asking was whether he’d be able to pursue his dream of flying.

“It’s just cool to me that we can go up and not be touching the ground — that’s just interesting,” he said of his interest in planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration previously restricted pilots from flying commercially if they had diabetes but changed those rules in 2019 to allow special medical certification for applicants with well-managed diabetes.

Ondersma thinks that, combined with who Bishop is as a person, will mean there’s no limit, not even the sky, on what Broden can accomplish.

“(Bishop’s) got all the great attributes. He is witty, good-looking, tall, smart, funny, (he) just has to work with his diabetes now. He’s got his,” said Ondersma.