Tuesday, November 18, 2014. With all that is going in our lives today it’s often hard to recall what happened last week let alone close to two years ago. The events of this day and the subsequent three days that followed will forever be etched in our minds. Maegan was 4, in pre-k, and we had recently moved, so there was a lot of excitement in her life. Unfortunately with all the “newness” came an added change in her behavior—one that included consistently consuming large amounts of water followed by frequent bathroom breaks. So the morning of the 18th we took action and scheduled an appointment to see M
aegan’s doctor. After some time spent hanging in the waiting room and a series of comical attempts to refill Maegan’s bladder, the doctor returned to the room where we sat anxiously awaiting his return and gave us the diagnosis…“your daughter has type 1 diabetes.” We spent the next three days at UMASS Medical in Worcester receiving a crash course on all things diabetes while Maegan sat unaware that anything was truly wrong. She gleefully bounced around the hospital, befriending nurses, watching Frozen, and learning what would become her new norm. All she really understood was that the insulin we were giving her made her feel better.
In the time since her diagnosis our carefree little fighter has embraced the challenge and become an inspiration to us all. Amazingly Maegan does very little complaining, save the occasional “I hate having diabetes.” Just last week she started first grade and remains extremely active dancing and playing soccer.
To help more accurately control her insulin levels Maegan leverages the use of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and an insulin pump, technology we understand would not exist without Breakthrough T1D’s support. From the start she has embraced the technology quickly—learning how to test her blood, sync her data on her CGM, and even type in the necessary information, including current blood sugar and carb count for her upcoming meal, into her insulin pump to ensure the correct amounts of insulin are delivered.
While she remains happy and confident with a giant smile on her face at all times, the challenge is real and has forced her to grow up quicker than we would have liked. Any piece of food or drink must be weighed and measured with the total number of carbohydrates counted to ensure her blood sugar stays in range. If she dips low or goes high everything must come to a halt so we can get her back in range; it doesn’t matter if it’s during class or at 2 a.m., we must always be vigilant.
Last August, as we continued to immerse ourselves in all things diabetes we attended a dinner about Breakthrough T1D, 
where we learned about all the tremendous strides being made in research and how Breakthrough T1D’s investments are supporting the development of next-generation therapies. We also learned about the different fundraising events designed to aid in Breakthrough T1D’s mission. We came out of that dinner with a purpose. We had less than two months until the local Breakthrough T1D Walk and we knew that we not only wanted to be a part of the celebration but we wanted to be a top 10 team in funds generated. With that, Miss Maegan’s Minions was born! We quickly reached out to friends and family directly and through social media. We had never done anything like this before but took great joy in the pursuit of seeing what we were capable of accomplishing. The support was overwhelming and we were able to raise just over $6,000 in our first year! On the day of the Walk over 30 friends and family spent their Sunday alongside us and the hundreds of other walkers celebrating what Breakthrough T1D means to those living with type 1. We are now less than a month away from this year’s Walk and preparations are in full swing. There is such a sense of pride working with Breakthrough T1D and aiding in their mission to turn Type One into Type None.
To learn more about the research being funded by Breakthrough T1D, visit: www.breakthrought1d.org/research and if you would like to donate to our team visit: https://secure3.convio.net/jdrf3/site/TR?fr_id=6337&pg=team&team_id=214894.
