There aren’t many things higher on a parent’s list of things they wish for more than the health and safety of their children.  Seven years ago, at age six, my son Ian was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disease that inhibits the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin.  The first three days after the diagnosis were spent in the hospital trying to bring Ian’s blood sugar down from dangerously high levels.  After his release, it was home to learn how to cope with this lifelong disease. Like most people that had no previous experience with T1D, the learning curve was like getting hit with a firehose.  The first six months consisted of insulin shots, eight finger pricks per day and nighttime alarms to check blood sugar levels.    

Fast forward seven years, and technology keeps improving, thanks in part to JDRF research.  Ian now wears an insulin pump on one arm and a CGM on the other.  Although the technology makes the disease more manageable, T1D impacts most of his day and nights.   Constant blood sugar monitoring, eating at times even when not hungry to stave off dangerously low blood sugar levels, and being woken in the night for an insulin dose or to snack are the norms.  Overnights at friends’ houses are marked with anxiety for mom and dad: does he have snacks? Will he hear his low glucose alarm if it goes off while he’s sleeping? Did he bring an extra insulin pod and insulin? Monitoring and reacting to blood sugar swings can be a rollercoaster ride that is never mastered.  This is a disease that does not allow for even one day off.

The good news is that thanks to JDRF, Ian and our family are not in this alone.  With proper management, Ian can participate in everything that teenagers who don’t suffer from T1D can.  The bad news is that T1D is rapidly on the rise in the United States.  In 2020, the CDC reported that T1D is up 30% from 2017.  Today, nearly 1.6 Americans and 187,000 children live with T1D.

This underscores the urgent need to accelerate the work of JDRF to find cures for T1D and continue its passionate work to improve the lives of those living with the disease today.  Whether it's the rapid progress with the artificial pancreas or work with beta cells and immune therapy treatment, funds raised in events like this are having an impact by helping people with T1D live longer, healthier, and easier lives.  I’m all in…committed to JDRF and a world without T1D.  Please join me by supporting Fund A Cure with a donation today and I will match all donations up to $15,000 dollar-for-dollar. 

If you wish to make a donation by check, please make it payable to JDRF and mail it to the JDRF Upstate New York Chapter at 757 Central Ave, Suite 102, Albany, NY 12205.

Thank you for your support,

Scott