When I was diagnosed with type one diabetes, an autoimmune disease that affects the pancreas and relies on daily insulin injections as well as blood glucose checks, I was not sure what my life would be like as an adult. I did not have a real support system or community and I felt very lost. As I got older I started seeking out opportunities or events that would give me what I was looking for; a group of people who knew what I was going through, understood the trials and victories I was experiencing and would help me feel like I was not alone with this illness.
Soon my efforts were met.
I came across a Walk to Cure event happening in my area. A JDRF walk. Here I was able to find a place where, for the first time in a while, I did not feel different. I felt like I was contributing to something bigger than me. I registered, I fundraised, and I walked, side by side with children, adults, and families affected in some way by type one diabetes. The experience was truly beautiful and it was exactly what I had been missing. A community.
There I learned about insulin pumps that could take the place of countless insulin injections needed to live. Think of it as a tiny pancreas on the outside of my body. I also received info on continuous glucose monitors that would alarm me of low glucose levels and high ones, which can be potentially fatal if untreated. These amazing devices could give me just a bit of ease while I slept. It was technology I had never known existed.
Being at this event changed my entire life and my own personal mission statement. I vowed to represent myself and others living with this illness. And to do everything I could to make others aware of what we could all do to help.
So what is the JDRF and what do they do?
The JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that has been an active force in the Type one world for forty-eight years! Since 1970 their goal has been to fund research that is specifically directed towards finding a cure but also to find ways to better manage and possibly prevent type one diabetes altogether. They have chapters across the United States and some international ones as well.
I spoke with our local chapter locations, JDRF Southwest Ohio’s development coordinator, Jackie Oney. I was able to find out her thoughts on what JDRF means to her and the team. “JDRF is here for our type one diabetes families and friends. We really are so lucky that we have such a tight-knit community filled with people willing to drop everything to help one another. We like to say it’s the best family that you never wanted to be a part of.” I could not agree more.
Type one diabetes is not something I would have willingly signed up for but the family you get with it, the love and support that surrounds us, and the strides that are being made, well, they make living with this illness just a little bit easier. And that is always something to be thankful for.
If you are interested in getting involved with this foundation; donating, walking, supporting. Then head over to https://www.jdrf.org/ where you can find information on your local chapter. As well as info on the next event happening June 1st, 2019 at Kings Island. The One Walk Kings Island hosts over 8,000 people each year coming together for the same purpose. Turning type one into type none. Registration is open now.
