Mary Jane Pridgeon, Brady’s Mom wrote a few words to introduce you to Brady and his family.

Right before he was officially diagnosed our family took a surprise trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. We were going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Our family are huge fans of Harry Potter.

Brady was VERY excited to go.  But while he was there he would just suddenly get really tired.  I can remember one day in particular.  We were at the Harry Potter exhibit and he asked his dad to carry him and for some reason he came and asked me to carry him.  When I picked him up I remember telling him “Wow Bugs, you are getting tall but you feel so light.”

Before our trip I had begun to get suspicious that Brady could have diabetes. I read a lot Type 1 because I have a very good friend with it.  I had noticed that was having many of the symptoms.  On January 27, 2012, Brady, who was 7 at the time, and I went to our pediatrician.  They weighed him and he had lost about 10 pounds was down to 67 lbs.  They did a blood glucose test which was well over 400.  We were told to go to the hospital.  I must have looked like I was in complete shock, because the doctor rephrased her statement and said we should go home, pack a bag for the weekend and go to Toledo Hospital.  We arrived at Toledo Hospital at 5 pm.  Brady’s dad met us there shortly us there.  Soon we would meet Dr. Watkins and he is Brady’s endocrinologist still.

It was a long and sometimes emotional weekend, but Brady was AMAZING.  He immediately began giving himself his own shots and testing his own blood sugar.  While were in the hospital we played a vending machine game because he wanted a “junk food” snack.  We purchased a few choices read the carbs per serving and figured out what snack he could have the most of with the least carbs.  He has been very involved in managing his diabetes from the beginning. Now at 9, the school health aid, nurse and teachers are amazed at how well he knows what to do.  He is a true inspiration to me every day.

 

Here are a few things Brady would like to say in his own words.

What is your first memory of having T1D?

Going to the hospital and getting an IV.  My vein rolled and they had to do it again.

How, in a few words, did T1D impact your life? Something you had to change, couldn’t attend or overcome.

I can’t eat endlessly anymore. I can eat as much as I want but I can’t just go get cookies and candy anymore.

What do you wish other people knew about life with diabetes?

That life is almost the same, I just have to check my blood sugar and I have to give my body insulin because it can’t make it.  I still run and play.  My favorite things are gym and recess at school.  Our teacher has extra fresh air break and we play all sorts of sports.  I love it!

What reaction do you get when others discover you have T1D?

They act like I didn’t know.  They ask me what is it like and they ask what diabetes is.

I miss POP the most.  I want to be a professional baseball player someday!

How did your Walk Team start?.

When I heard about the Breakthrough T1D walk last year I wanted to do it, but we kind of missed the deadline so this year I got my parents to get on the ball.  My whole family helped me and we had         fun getting T-shirts, and named our team Brady’s Bunch and the actual walk.  Our dog Sparkle walked the whole way.  We didn’t know how much money we could raise and set a goal of $800 we were really surprised when we got over $2,000 in donations.  That was a great surprise!

What would you like to tell someone who is thinking about donating to Breakthrough T1D?

I hope that people would donate.  I would love it if one day I didn’t have to use a pump or check my blood sugar anymore.  Just like when I was 5 and 6 and didn’t have diabetes.