April T1D Faces of The Month

Even though ambitious 7-year-old Hayden is only one year into his Type 1 diagnosis, him and his family are already making waves in the community.Right before his 6th birthday, mom Jenn took Hayden to the doctor because he was acting extremely irritable and angry, he was having to pee more than 10 times a night, and he was guzzling water like it was nobody’s business. When they got to the doctor, they had him do a urine test, and Jenn thought they were testing for a UTI. The doctor came back and did a finger prick and the meter read HI. He took Jenn into the hall and told her that Hayden had Type 1 Diabetes and needed urgent treatment. Only a year into Hayden’s diagnosis, Hayden’s family started a company called Greater Than.  They are a lifestyle apparel brand who donate a portion of their proceeds to T1D research. They’ve had booths at Type One Nation summits, ADA walks, Padre Foundation events, and JDRF fundraisers, raising money for each. A portion of their proceeds also goes to Type 1 research at Dr Faustman’s labs in Boston, Massachusettes. Hayden just started using an Omnipod, and he’s loving not having to be poked multiple times a day to give his insulin. Jenn also thinks it’s given them better control over his blood sugars.Hayden has a whole crew of loyal supporters! These include his mom, Jenn, and stepfather Steven, his biological father and his fiancée, and Jenn’s parents who they’re grateful live nearby. Also can’t forget a whole zoo of pets! Hayden says, “Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t stop me from doing anything that I want to do. I can still play my video games, swim, run 5ks and eat ice cream. I’m still Hayden.”

44-year-old Lynette, from Maine, was only 6 when she was diagnosed with Type 1. She was sick with bronchitis, and wasn’t getting any better. She was losing weight, wasn’t eating, and was drinking and urinating a lot. She was in kindergarten at the time, and her parents brought her to the pediatricians. Before she knew it she was in the ER having blood drawn and being loaded with insulin. Her blood sugar was almost at 700 mg/dl. Lynette just celebrated her 38th diaversary on February 14, 2018. In the past few years she has started doing the JDRF One Walk, and loves the sense of community and unity she gets when she’s there surrounded by other Type 1 families. She’s been using an insulin pump for 10 years, and just recently started using the Medtronic 670g pump and CGM closed loop system. When asked about her biggest supporters, she said, “Hands down my husband Rob.” She continued, “I can't even begin to count how many times in 18 years of marriage that man has been woken up in the night by a cgm alarm or me asking for juice to treat a low. He's the best!” Lynette says that T1D doesn’t stop her from living her best life now. She elaborates, “Yes, I'm a diabetic but that's just a part of what makes me, me. I'm also a wife, a mom, I have a close knit family, amazing friends, a great career. There are good days and bad days, and I have learned not to beat myself up about a bad day. Even after 38 years there's trial and error in this T1D life and if I've learned anything it's this; I can choose to be in control my diabetes or it can be in control of me. It's a balancing act but I will not let diabetes win.”

15-year-old Macey was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 13 months old. She’s really lived most of her life with it! She received the MMR vaccine, and two days later came the excessive thirst and peeing. At the time, her parents were in contact with her doctor who misdiagnosed her, saying it was a reaction to the vaccine. Well, a week later she was lethargic and close to a diabetic coma! She was in the ICU for 4 days as her parents were taught how to take care of her. They started Macey’s Believers as a walk team to raise money for JDRF, and have raised over $170,000.00! Now Macey’s Believers has grown into a non-profit, raising money for research, and to help families with who can’t afford to attend the Friends For Life Confetence by Children With Diabetes in Orlando every year. They’ve been attending the conference since 2005, and Macey says it’s the best! She is grateful for her friends and family who are always there for her. Macey says, “A positive that has come out of T1D is that I appreciate every day!”

22 year old Hunter, from Florida, was 6 when she was diagnosed with Type 1. She was a little gymnast, and her parents recognized the classic symptoms very quickly. Because she was a gymnast the time, she was burning off a lot of the glucose in her workouts so the symptoms weren’t very noticeable until her body couldn’t handle it anymore. Her parents took her to the pediatrician, and luckily he was familiar with Type 1 and knew to test her blood sugar, which was 400. She spent the next 4 days in the ICU. Hunter has been attending and volunteering at the Friends for Life by Children With Diabetes conference since 2003. She also does JDRF fundraisers, and did the Walk to Cure Diabetes Children’s Congress in 2009, where she and some other Type 1 kids got to meet former President Obama, Nick Jonas, and Mary Tyler Moore. She is supported by being on the Open APS Loop System with her pump and CGM, but is also supported by Abby and Sadie, who are both trained service dogs! Her biggest supporters are also her mom and her dad.  Hunter says, “A positive that has come out of T1D is the people it has introduced me to! Because of diabetes, I have these incredible people in my life  - an extended family - who are all there for me no matter what, and I can’t be anymore thankful for them.”

11-year-old Hannah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 4 years ago. She was sick for a few days, and her doctor did a blood test which revealed a high blood sugar. Now she uses an Omnipod insulin pump. Hannah led and organized a JDRF kids walk at her school, raising over 5000$! She is a youth ambassador for her JDRF chapter. But her favorite diabetes-related activity is the Friends for Life conference by Children With Diabetes that is organized every summer. Her biggest supporters are her family and friends, and her 3 pets; two dogs named Jasmine and Joe (aka “Joe Bear”), and a cat named Molly. Hannah says, “T1D doesn't stop me from doing the things I love. I love art and theater and noone can stop me from doing those things!”

T1D Faces of the Month

Marie is a bright-spirited 22 year old from Austin, Texas. When she was 4, she was acting upset and irrational, so being in school to become a PA, her mom used her Type 2 diabetic grandma’s glucometer to test her blood sugar. They took her to the ER and caught it early enough to prevent DKA! Attending a diabetes day camp every summer for 13 years really shaped her outlook on life with Type 1. Now she is hosting the Austin chapter of Type One Run! She has been using the Omnipod insulin pump for over a decade! She is surrounded my support from her family, but her biggest supporter’s name is Amy McKinnon, a fellow T1D that she bonded with in Australia. From thousands of miles away she is always encouraging her. Last but not least, she gets love from her shih-tzu Bella who just turned 10. Marie says that a positive that has come out of Type 1 are the friendships she’s made. She says, “I’m overwhelmingly thankful to be loved by and to love so many people who lack functioning beta cells.”

Adam Rudick, at 25 year old, is a dedicated volunteer and advocate from Montreal, Quebec. At 11 years old he was told he just had a weak bladder, only to go on a trip to New York where his symptoms hit an extreme. Luckily, his dad had a friend there who is a doctor, and after testing his blood sugar on a meter, it was so high it wasn’t readable! They cut their trip short and headed home to Montreal, where he was diagnosed at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. He attended a diabetes sleep away camp called Camp Carawanis and says he had a blast and would recommend it to anyone in the area. Currently a volunteer at JDRF on the Community Engagement Comittee, he is always attending conferences from Medtronic (he uses the Medtronic Minimed), and JDRF Research symposiums because he loves learning about upcoming research and technology. He calls his girlfriend Mel his biggest supporter, and says one of the positives that has come out of diabetes is “The mental, physical and emotional strength that is built from managing it on a daily basis.”

14-year-old Laina Wilderman from Illinois is raising her voice by making videos on YouTube. 2 years ago, she started drinking water excessively and peeing all the time. These were familiar symptoms to her parents, as her grandpa has Type 1 as well. They took her to the doctor where they found she had ketones. They went straight to the hospital where her blood sugar was 360mg/dl. After a few days in the hospital being taught how to manage her new illness, she went home feeling like she got an overload of information. She loves her Dexcom and has tried two different insulin pumps, but in the end loves her Omnipod. Her biggest supporters are her parents, her YouTube subscribers, and of course her 2 cats, Lilly and Blackie. Support her YouTube by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd_xtBoZWbDoFhDKNokbanA

Laird Morris is a 58-year-old happy chap from a small village in rural Essex, in England. His sister was diagnosed with Type 1 while on vacation in the summer of 1975. He started to become progressively unwell the following winter. Though his sister recognized the symptoms, she didn’t want him to have diabetes also, so for months she held off testing his urine. His teachers at school noticed he was unwell, but didn’t have knowledge of Type 1 Diabetes. In February of 1976, his sister became more concerned and tested his urine, then immediately took him to their GP. His GP arranged for him to be admitted to the local hospital for 2 weeks learning about how to live his new life with Type 1. He wasn’t involved in any diabetes-related activities until recently, when he attended a DAFNE education course which he found super helpful. He is not on an insulin pump and uses MDI (multiple daily injections). He believes that everyone has inner strengths of which they are largely unaware and that living and prospering with diabetes makes finding these strengths an imperative. He says, “Some people think that diabetes makes them strong, whereas I think that diabetes can act as a catalyst that drives us to discover that we are strong and resourceful.”

4-year-old happy, go-lucky, warrior Luciano (aka Nano), from Miami, Florida, was minutes away from a diabetic coma when he was diagnosed at 11 months old. He had caught the Adeno virus, but never recovered. After days in and out of Urgent Care, the ER, and his pediatrician, he was reassured it was just an upper respiratory infection. Well that night, he was pale and lethargic and his mom knew that something else was wrong. She rushed him to the ER where he was finally properly diagnosed just in time to save his life. He is now on multiple daily injections. Mom Ariana got them involved in the diabetes community right away. Between JDRF and The Diabetes Research Institute, they’ve raised about 6000$! Ariana started a blog on Facebook (@myt1dbaby) in hopes of raising awareness and helping recently diagnosed families. Their family includes mom, dad, and Nano’s 16 year old big sister, and 10 year old big brother. Together they are each others biggest supporters, and this has only brought them closer together. Nano also loves sharing his food with their chihuahua Felipe, which mom sarcastically says makes carb counting “so much fun”. Nano is fearless, and their family tries to have as much fun as they can while coping with this disease. Mom says, “He gets it and he is proud to say, he has ‘Dia-beadies.’”

Do you want to be featured next month? Contact me!