Our Type 1 Diabetes Story

I recently joined JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) as an advocate for helping to find a cure. That simply means that I have committed to spreading the word about the work that they are doing at JDRF. If you are like me and didn't know the condition existed (until I met my wife), then spend some time clicking on the links I have provided to find out about the condition that has been deamed "The Silent Killer". It is a condition that affects more people around us than we care to imagine, as many with the condition often feel ashamed of what coping with it means for them. If you know about Diabetes, have Diabetes, or know a loved one or colleague that has Diabetes, then please join me and JDRF in helping to find a cure that can put this killer to rest. I am developing an Arts Festival for the Spring of 2011 that will seek to raise funds to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. If you would like to be a participant in organizing this festival, then please contact me...click here... Below you will find, my story about caring for a loved one who is coping with Type 1 Diabetes.



I'm 27...I didn't know diabetes existed! That is...until I met my wife. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 18 after being hospitalized with mono. Her illness sent a shock-wave through her body rendering her pancreas incapable of producing the insulin she needs to survive. The sudden change in lifestyle was impossible to grapple with without a supportive network around her. When I met her 4 years ago, her average blood sugar levels produced an A1-C reading above 10. I began learning about the condition and helping my wife to strengthen her body to become less dependent on insulin, but it just isn't possible with the daily challenges a diabetic must face. Even something as simple as climbing a flight of stares, having an argument, or loss of sleep drastically changes her bodies interaction with these common daily events...something many of us without Diabetes take for granted. The innovations of today have made living with Diabetes bearable. We even have two beautiful young children, and yet her condition rages against her! With each year, her eyesight weakens, her insulin sites toughen, her nerve tissue numbs and tingles, she is easily exhausted, and as she continues to age all of her organs will begin to wilt and fade at a rate far faster than a person without Type 1 Diabetes.

My wife and I are at a place in our lives where this condition must not be allowed to survive! It can't be ignored or overlooked, and a cure for the condition must not be belabored by the advancements of devices to help monitor the distribution of insulin. These advancements are wonderful, amazing, and necessary, but they cannot take the place of finding a cure! My heart breaks every time I hear about another friend or family member's child being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. But the mourning of my heart for people with Diabetes fuels a stronger desire to see this condition stopped and put to rest.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my story and my wife's story! It is a story not unlike millions of others that came before us, and not unlike the hundreds of others that will continue on after us. God bless the diligent work you have set out to do in finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes!