I am honored to be a part of One Group and to have the opportunity to help raise money to support JDRF, an organization focused on curing, treating and preventing Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). This cause is very close and personal to me as I have been living with this disease now for the thirty-four years, and believe that with your support and the work of JDRF, I, and the other 1.5 million people living with this disease, will one day live with independence from the daily management this disease requires.
My life changed on October 14, 1982 at 5 years old. After going to a friend’s birthday party, his mother posed a question about why I was drinking so much water. This one question, like many others who have T1D, flipped my life as I knew it upside down. I learned on that day that my body does not produce insulin (the single hormone that provides energy from food) and as a result, I was diagnosed with T1D. I was now dependent on checking my blood sugar 3 to 4 times per day and giving myself multiple daily injections. The toughest challenge of T1D is that it is not something that I will out grow. Until a cure is found, it has been and will continue to be a part of my daily life.
As a 5 year old I committed to my independence, as my parents tell the story, by handling my daily blood checks and injections when I got home from the hospital. How to live independently is a question everyone with T1D has to answer in order to meets his or her obligations to manage this lifelong disease. Daily disease management is impacted by many factors. Some are within my control - do I exercise, do I eat the right foods, do I check my blood sugar, do I take the appropriate insulin dosage? However even with the best planning, hours in the gym, miles on the treadmills, and salads eaten, sometimes this disease has a mind of its own. The best hope we have is to find a real cure.
I experienced the unpredictability of this disease first hand on December 8, 2014 when my blood sugar dropped to a dangerously low level while I was alone. This drop also unfortunately happened while I was driving resulting in a car accident. This alone would be a scary event, but some of the first responders were not aware that as a Type 1 diabetic you can’t control or be aware of this impending life threatening situation. The result of the accident was loss of contact with my family and loved ones for over twenty-four hours. They received no updates relative to how I was recovering from this life threatening low blood sugar. Thankfully everyone was okay, but my experience brings to light just how important finding a cure so that no one else has to experience a scary situation similar to mine.
While the immediate and traumatic risk associated with a low blood sugar is a daily concern of someone with T1D, the long-term complications of high blood sugar are just as devastating. If the efforts of someone with T1D do not allow you to maintain your blood sugar within a normal range (80 to 120), the results can include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, amputation and for women, pregnancy complications. These potential complications demand dependence - on quarterly doctor visits, insulin adjustments and constant monitoring - but even this dependence doesn’t guaranty complication avoidance.
In over thirty years managing T1D, the efforts and support of JDRF have continued to increase my independence. Substantial strides have been made to improve the management of this disease. Instead of multiple daily injections, I now rely on an insulin pump, changed every three days, to deliver my medication. I am now able to monitor my blood sugar levels at all times through a continuous glucose monitor though daily blood sugar checks to ensure calibration are necessary. Today there are even pumps available which will actually turn off insulin delivery if blood sugar levels drop too low. But despite these strides today I am still 100% dependent on external factors to control this disease.
Thanks to the efforts of JDRF, however, we see great strides being made towards a cure. We are on the cusp of allowing people with T1D the opportunity to experience the true independence I was looking for at 5 years old in 1982. JDRF is supporting the development of many exciting new technologies including an artificial pancreas that will control blood sugars without outside inputs, encapsulation allowing even greater independence, and even a possible vaccine to prevent this catastrophic disease.
I am asking each one of you take this opportunity to make a personal impact on my life and the millions other individuals who battle T1D on a daily basis and join JDRF in the fight to turn Type One into Type None. For those in Atlanta, I hope that you would be a part of The One party on the night of November 9th. The event will be held at American Spirit Work. Tickets are $75 per person and will include cocktails, delicious food, music and dancing. Proceeds will go towards JDRF's efforts to change the lives of all of those impacted by T1D. If you can't make it to the party, you can donate online today or write a check to help support this wonderful cause. Please make checks payable to JDRF and include my name in the memo portion. Checks can be mailed to:
3525 Piedmont Road NE, Bldg 6, Ste 300
Atlanta, GA 30305
Thank you for support and joining JDRF’s quest to create independence for all those impacted by T1D!