JDRF

Today at work, we had the kickoff meeting for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. A co-worker of mine is leading one of the teams, so Mom & I decided to participate. The walk will take place on Saturday, October 25th at Greenfield Lake/Legion Stadium.

If you didn’t already know, JDRF stands for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I’ll admit, I didn’t think diabetes was that big of a deal. When I was in elementary school, one of my classmates had diabetes—I just thought it meant he had to test his blood sugar, and make sure to always have a snack. But it’s so much more than that. Jon Evans (local TV anchor) spoke to us about his father’s fight with diabetes, which eventually took his life. My grandmother has diabetes. A friend of mine in Ohio has diabetes. One of the ladies that I work with has a daughter with diabetes. It’s almost a “common” disease…one that I personally don’t think about because I’m not affected by it. But a LOT of people deal with this day by day, minute by minute and it is a big deal.

There was a little boy, 9 years old, that spoke to our group. He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when he was just five years old. That really hit home for me because my sweet nephew is only five. This little boy talked about his parents having to learn to give him insulin shots, pricking his own finger to test his blood sugar, having to stop playing with his friends when his sugar drops because he gets weak, having an insulin pump attached to his body. Then of course, I started thinking of Edwin. What would I do if he got diagnosed with diabetes? I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I heard this 9 year old talk about his dream of going to college with no insulin pump and no more diabetes. We also watched a video with several children explaining how it affects their lives. (Seriously, I think they were trying to make us cry the whole time!!!).

What’s my point? I’m participating in this walk in just a few weeks. I’m asking anyone and everyone that reads this post to please consider donating just $10. That’s the cost of two cups of coffee…a movie ticket…lunch at a restaurant… You may not know someone with diabetes, you may not be directly affected by it. But imagine if your child got sick. Again, please consider donating $10. You can go online and use a debit card, or you can contact me about a cash or check donation. If you are unable to donate, I understand. Regardless, please keep this cause in your prayers.

Here’s a direct link to my donation page. Thank you :)
http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87112989

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Some Facts About Diabetes

• Today more than 24 million Americans (adults and children) live with diabetes in the U.S. That's 7% of the population
• Diabetes kills one American every 3 minutes and is the sixth leading cause of death reported in the U.S.
• One of every three Americans born in the year 2000 is predicted to devlop some form of diabetes during his/her lifetime
• Insulin is not a cure for diabetes
• Kids with juvenile diabetes must take daily insulin injections, frequent blood sugar tests (as many as six per day) by pricking a finger, and maintain a strictly controlled diet
• Juvenile diabetes often produces serious, even life-threatening complications, such as blindness, vascular damage, and kidney failure
• You cannot outgrow the disease. On average, diabetes will shorten life spans by 15 years