From The Oakland Press

The search for a cure for one disease is bringing together members of the Oakland County community — from a regional bank president to a 7-year-old boy in Rochester Hills.

Mike Fezzey of Beverly Hills, president of Huntington Bank’s East Michigan Region in Troy, and Andrew Navetta, second grader, both live in families affected by Type 1 diabetes (T1D).

As many as 3 million Americans have T1D, an autoimmune disease that strikes at any age, regardless of diet or lifestyle and requires constant monitoring of glucose and insulin levels.

Fezzey and Navetta are joined together by their support of the Breakthrough T1D Metro Detroit/Southeast Michigan Chapter in the fight to find a cure.

Fezzey and his wife, Suzy, are serving as co-chairs for this year’s 28th Annual Breakthrough T1D Promise Ball, an event that has raised more than $4 million since 2005 to fund research toward finding a cure to T1D.

“It was very easy for us to say ‘yes’ to helping with this year’s event, as everyone knows someone who is affected by type 1 diabetes, including our family,” Fezzey said.

“There’s only one thing that will help the awful impact of this disease on families and that’s a cure, which is what we’re working to fund with the Promise Ball.”

Navetta was diagnosed with T1D when he was just 22-months old and already is not only becoming a pro at managing the disease, but advocates on behalf of others through Breakthrough T1D.

He is involved with the Breakthrough T1D Children’s Congress, in which more than 100 children with T1D gather in Washington, D.C. every two years to meet face-to-face with some of the top policy-makers in the Federal government. He also lent his story to Breakthrough T1D’s Fund-A-Cure video to educate others on life with T1D, which debuts at the Promise Ball event.

Each year, more than 15,000 children and 15,000 adults — approximately 80 people per day — are diagnosed with T1D in the U.S.

The rate of T1D incidence among children under the age of 14 is estimated to increase by 3 percent annually worldwide.

JDRF’s 28th Annual Promise Ball Gala, themed “Friday Night Live,” takes place on Friday, May 3, at the MGM Grand in Detroit.