Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: fundraising, JDRF, type 1 diabetes, walk
On the eve of her JDRF walk fundraising efforts, Charlotte’s mom has created a special video in Charlotte’s honor… hope you’ll take a minute to watch and be inspired… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PSN9-Q2iJY
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bags of hope, JDRF, miles, pump wear, type 1 diabetes
so this week in total I accumulated about 14 miles… it’s time to make some kind of graphic to illustrate my trek… no one’s taken me up on the offer yet to buy miles, but perhaps you’re all just waiting to see if I’m gonna stick to this!
Trying to think of more ideas for making an impact… discussed some with my sister this morning, like making pump pouches for kids to make life just a little more fun (Charlotte has an entire fashion wardrobe of these) or making something similar to the “bags of hope” JDRF distributes to newly diagnosed kids… anyone got any ideas?
Charlotte thinks this blog is cool- its fun having the approval of a 4 year old… I just hope that I can accomplish some big things on her behalf… she’s such a sweetie and it sucks that her life has been permanently altered with this diagnosis…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blood sugar, insulin, pancreas, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes
Those of you who know me know that I am an educator by trade and a teacher at heart… so what would be more natural for me then to educate myself and you about type 1 diabetes. Now remember that it’s my young nieces who have this disease, so I decided to approach this from a kid’s perspective which is why the JDRF Kids Online site is the place to start.
For those who prefer the quick and dirty version – everybody eats to live and the food we eat gets broken down into sugar (glucose) and is transported to all parts of our bodies in our blood… diabetes is basically having too much or too little sugar in the blood.
Normally our pancreas, a little organ near our stomach, controls how much sugar is in our blood, but in someone with diabetes the pancreas doesn’t work quite right. The pancreas does this important job by making insulin. In someone with type 1 diabetes their body doesn’t make enough (or really any) insulin. This is why they have to get a shot of insulin each time they eat.
We don’t know for sure what causes type 1 diabetes – partly our genes, partly the environment. We think viruses may be partly the cause and in both Charlotte and Kaelyn’s cases a specific GI, or stomach, virus is believed to have triggered their bodies’ immune system to attack their pancreas which led to their type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
Most diabetes (90 to 95 percent) is actually type 2 diabetes- also known as adult-onset diabetes. This form of the disease is usually seen in people over age 35, people who are overweight or who are not physically active. It is more common in certain races and in people with a family history of type 2 diabetes. In type 2 the body usually still makes insulin but not enough or the body doesn’t use it properly. Often these people do not require insulin for treatment.
Why do I point this out? Because there is a stigma attached to diabetes… we think of it as a disease of lifestyle, but I hope you better understand now that is only true of some type 2 diabetes and not the case for type 1 diabetes.
Charlotte and Kaelyn did nothing to bring on this condition. There is nothing they could do to avert it. Their bodies are completely dependent on an external source of insulin FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Well, that’s a start… more to follow.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 500 miles, fundraising, JDRF, type 1 diabetes, walk
So I’ve decided I’m on a mission… you see I have these two nieces with much the same story. Kaelyn will be turning 8 this June and Charlotte will be turning 5 in August. Both girls were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (or juvenile diabetes) around the age of 2 following a GI virus that unknowingly set off a dramatic immune response in their tiny little bodies and attacked their panacreas. It amazes me to watch both girls deal with a chronic disease at such young ages and breaks my heart at the same time. I’m busy raising “healthy” twins who are just 7 weeks younger than Charlotte, so I try to imagine walking in my sister’s shoes as she raises Charlotte and contends with her disease daily. And I’ve also watched in awe as my sister-in-law deals not only with Kaelyn’s diabetes but also a diagnosis of Celiac disease – essentially a gluten allergy, which only complicates matters more.
Each year Charlotte and my sister, Michelle, and Kaelyn and my sister-in-law, Anne sponsor JDRF walk teams in the girls’ honor and raise funds to seek a cure. Unfortunately my girls, Hannah and Sarah, and I don’t get to join them as we all live in different states. So this year, I’m on a journey from now until Charlotte’s walk date – 173 days from now- to walk 500 miles – walking in her shoes to raise awareness and hopefully, some money too, for JDRF and a cure. I’ll chronicle my journey here – I’m not sure where the path will lead but I’m excited to begin.
You can visit my JDRF fundraising page at
| http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87014117 |
