Hi, I’m Kennedy Russell. I’m in the 4th grade at St. Joan of Arc. I was diagnosed with T1D on Jan 6, 2011.  My first memory of T1 was my first finger poke at the doctor’s office (I screamed!).  It has affected my life because now I have to watch how I eat and give myself insulin.  The reaction I get from people is, “What’s that on your arm?” because I wear the pod (Omnipod insulin pump. I wish people knew more about the pod because every time someone asks, I have to explain and it’s hard to explain how it works.  Even though I have T1D, I can still play sports, like basketball and volleyball. And I can have birthday treats at school (much easier now with the pod) like cupcakes and brownies (and they are really good!).

The people that have helped me the most are my mom and my little sister, Tess.  She (Tess, not mom) sings songs to help distract me when I change my pod.  I walk because I want to find a cure!!!!  And they will find one!

Sincerely,

                                                                  Kennedy

Kennedy and her family are dedicated supporters of Breakthrough T1D.  Each year they take great pride in being one of our top fundraising teams.  And for them…the competition is on!  Families like Kennedy’s are what makes the walk so special and a lot much fun!  Kennedy, you are why we work hard to turn Type One into Type None.