“She’s thirsty!”  I pleaded desperately around midnight to the on-call nurse.  Thirsty is not usually a condition that strikes fear into a mother’s heart, but this night, it did.  I did not know why, but I did know something was wrong.  The bursting diapers, a mysterious diaper rash that no cream could soothe, and her tears should have tipped us all off to the symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes.  Even after the nurse off-handedly asked if anyone in our family had diabetes, and I said “no,” the theory was dismissed.  The next day after dragging our daughter into the pediatrician for a second quick check within the week, Type 1 and I were formally introduced, two days before Easter 2007.

This year will mark our 7th walk for Breakthrough T1D.  Our first walk (pictured below walking with DCs Will’s Walkers) was just two months after Isabelle was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at only 18 months of age.  Team Ibbie Lou, using a nickname for our Isabelle Louise, was started the following year and began a yearly drive that has raised over $60,000 for Breakthrough T1D.  We have engaged friends, school mates, family, neighbors, local businesses and friends of friends in tie-dying walk shirts, making hats, painting posters, collecting coins and raising funds.  We have involved them in the vision for a brighter future for those with Type 1 Diabetes.  This shared vision inspired a friend and neighbor, Andrew Suart, President of Volkswagen Credit Inc., to challenge his employees to fund raise for Breakthrough T1D in 2011.  They have joined us in the last two walks as Team Ibbie Lou VCI contributing approximately $15,000 in their two years walking.

This year, I am taking an additional road in raising funds and awareness through Team Breakthrough T1D Challenge Events.  I ran the Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach.  I was inspired by the people I saw running for Breakthrough T1D in my first marathon last fall, and additionally by my introduction to the mother of a recently diagnosed four-year-old from Virginia Beach, who was also running for the cause. Soon, I will be participating in the 2013 VA Walk to Cure Diabetes in Leesburg, VA.

The countless needles, pricks, highs, lows and sleepless nights that have filled the last six years are a constant reminder that our journey for a cure is not over.  Thus, we will keep walking and running the miles, telling our story, and asking for the support of colleagues, neighbors, friends, and family until we find the cure.