Please help me raise money for the 2015 JDRF Delaware Hope Ball Fund A Cure campaign. Fund
A Cure is a unique opportunity to make a 100 percent tax-deductible
donation to JDRF that will fund vital research to cure, better treat,
and prevent T1D. Since 1994, JDRF has raised more than $211 million
through Fund A Cure alone.
Why supporting Juvenile Diabetes is important; my personal story:
On July 14th of this year my daughter, Mairead, went to her 4 year old well visit (a month late due to a pediatrician change). When I mentioned her excessive drinking and urination over the previous 2-3 weeks, her new pediatrician said that he does a urine analysis as part of his well visits. There was sugar in her urine and therefore, immediately did a blood sugar test. It was 409....it should have been under 100. The doctor told us to leave immediately, do not check out at the front desk and go straight to A. I. DuPont ER and they would be waiting for us. I immediately called my husband and Mom to come get my 1 1/2 year old son, Patrick. Thanks to the wonderful staff at A. I. DuPont and the police officer who played peek-a-boo with Patrick while in my baby carrier on my back in the ER, everything went as smoothly as possible. After 4 days of extensive training on what type one diabetes is, how to count carbs, how to adjust her carb to insulin ratio, how to do corrections when high and make life saving decisions when low, we were then discharged (and thanking God I was formerly an accountant because of all the math involved). We were left under our own devices to embark on this new journey of finger pricks, needles and constant monitoring. It has been a long journey over a short period of time and a much longer journey awaits us. This is her life at 4 years old.
I was an Accountant, now stay at home Mom and Irish Dance instructor, my husband, Andrew, is a Web Developer. We are not trained in medicine or had ever given a shot before Mairead’s diagnosis. Now Mairead endures 5-10 finger pricks and 4-8 shots a day. I am sure you cringe at the thought of getting a flu shot. Well, this is every day, several times a day. The feeling that comes upon you after being sent home from the hospital with syringes and insulin and having to hold down your child as they scream in order to keep them alive another day. That feeling of heartache that you cannot take this horrible disease away from your child and to feel so desperate to ask the endocrinologist if you could donate your own pancreas to your child so they do not have to go through this pain. That feeling of hopelessness of being unable to take that pain away and to not want to even think about the complications that could come down the road.
After her diagnosis, the school she was supposed to attend said that she could no longer attend because of her medical needs. After contacting 15-20 schools in the Kennett Square area, only 5 said they would take her and only 2 of those were within our price range. She currently attends Kennett Square Preschool Co-op and they have been absolutely wonderful. Ultimately, I continue to go back to that short time period between the end of July and the end of August and wonder how anyone could deny a child an education due to an illness she could not prevent? Why are they so scared of T1D? Could it be because they see her as a liability? Could it be that they are uneducated as to this illness? I soon realized that my innocent 4 year old has combatted her first battle of discrimination. Something she will most likely have a life time of due to something she never asked to have. Why does anyone have to face discrimination for a disability, especially a 4 year old?
While at the hospital, her endocrinologist happened to mention that there has been a great influx of diagnosis’ within Avondale, West Grove, Kennett Square and surrounding areas over the past couple of years, specifically children who moved to this part of Chester County from Delaware or Philadelphia Counties. We moved from Roxborough in Philadelphia to Kennett Square September 2013. Dr. Doyle also mentioned that he is trying to get enough facts and stats together to hand over to the CDC for an investigation. Why could this be happening? Could it be the environment we entered into or the environment we came from? Why this area of Chester County? And my number one question, why my daughter? Out of 24 first cousins and one sibling, Mairead is the only one with type one diabetes.
Mairead is a spirited, mature and intelligent child. She is a working model, actress, and Irish Dancer. Mairead can already check her blood sugar on her own, occasionally give her own shots, sense when she is low and knows she needs shots for any food she eats (even asks the amount of carbs and how many units of insulin she needs). At this young age, she has had to come to grips that she will be dependent on insulin the rest of her life. She is also a Youth Ambassadors for JDRF of Wilmington and the face of diabetes over the next year. She has raised thousands of dollars for the research of diabetes and finding a cure and will continue her campaign throughout the year.
We have merely started on this journey and have already endured many sleepless nights due to constant monitoring of highs and lows. Please help us find a cure and prevent long term effects of this horrible disease. There will not be a cure without the help of supporters like you. Until type one is type none...
Sincerely,
L. Katie Raley