I’m asking for your support to help JDRF find a cure for diabetes. This year I’ll be taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s “Walk to Cure Diabetes“ being held in Boston, MA on October 2, 2010.
I’ll be wheeling with “Samantha’s Striders” to raise money for JDRF in support of my friend’s six year old daughter Samantha, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in November 2008. Sam will be insulin-dependent for the rest of her life or until a cure is found. Insulin is not a cure, it’s her life support. On a normal day, Sam endures at least 6 shots and 8 finger pricks. To help put it in perspective, that’s over 2,100 shots a year!
While Sam has really adjusted well to her routine, it breaks my heart to hear what she has to go through on a daily basis. In addition to her rigorous blood testing and insulin shots, everything she consumes must be measured, and the carbohydrates counted. Recently, Sam was talking to her grandfather and said “Pappy, I can’t wait until I don’t have diabetes anymore”….and neither can we, Sam!!
That’s why we’re doing everything in our power to help find a cure for this disease – for Sam and for the 15,000 other children that are diagnosed each year. In the United States, a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds.
Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating, often deadly disease that affects millions of people–a large and growing percentage of them children. Many people think juvenile diabetes can be controlled by insulin. While insulin does keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, it is NOT a cure. Aside from the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes, there are many severe, often fatal, complications caused by the disease.
There is some good news, though. For the first time, scientists are predicting that we CAN expect to see a cure well within our lifetime! Now, more than ever, you can make a crucial difference. It’s our mission to avoid all of the problems that are possible when you have a lifetime of diabetes.
Last year, thanks to Sam’s generous family and friends, “Samantha’s Striders” raised $20,000 in donations for the walk. We’re hoping to raise $25,000 this year! Thank you to everyone that donated and/or participated on that very rainy day!
I’m asking for your support because now more than ever, EACH of us can be a part of bringing about a cure. Each of us can make a real difference.