Your Dreams

About Type 1 Diabetes / The Stories

Brooke and her Grandmother

Written by Zoilita Herrera

When my daughter, Deana, was diagnosed at age 8, I promised her there’d be a cure for type 1 diabetes before the year 2000.  She’ll be 32 this year.

Every day, she has to poke her finger five or six times to test her blood sugar.  She wears an insulin pump each and every moment of her life.  She’s really strict about how she manages her disease.  But we still wake up scared for her well-being each day.  Sometimes Deana’s blood sugar has gone so low that she’s slipped into a coma. The less control she has over her diabetes, the greater her risk of getting devastating complications like blindness or kidney disease.  In January 2007, my granddaughter Brooke was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the tender age of 2. Now, just like my daughter, she constantly tests her blood sugar and also wears an insulin pump that is attached to her tiny body.  There is nothing harder than seeing the people who you love most cope with such difficulty daily.  I would do ANYTHING in my power to take it all away!

That’s why I give money for research to JDRF. Type 1 diabetes is an immune system disease.  There’s nothing you can do to prevent it.  And there’s no cure for it.

JDRF has been funding research to find a cure, and they’ve had some exciting advances over the years.  But the science is still not there – and research often takes a step back in difficult times like we’re going through now.  People with type 1 diabetes, like Deana and Brooke, just can’t afford that.

You can help by keeping up the momentum in research. Building on the progress science has made in the past few years can mean the difference between speeding the discovery of cures and therapies, or of seeing that pace slow down.

When Deana was diagnosed, I promised her there would be a cure by the time she turned 16.  At the time, I didn’t know just how much help we would need.  Now, my hope is that there’ll be a cure before her daughter turns 16.

Giovanni

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Giovanni was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes one month after his fourth birthday. He has been living with type1 diabetes for over two years. He wears an insulin pump and checks his sugar over ten times a day.

Giovanni loves anything that has to do with art, creating and building. He enjoys building with anything from cardboard boxes to clay. Giovanni may have type 1 diabetes, but type 1 diabetes doesn’t have him!

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Elissa

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Elissa was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in June 2007 at age 8. She has been supported by friends and family ever since. The family has participated in the JDRF Walk ever since. “Elissa’s Team,” comprised of our family and friends, participates in the JDRF walks anually.

Now, she is 10 years old. She is very active and healthy. With all of our effort, we hope to find a cure for juvenile diabetes soon.