We are the Mertz Family- Kyle, Amanda, Palmer, Flynn, Cooper, and Leo. We are honored to be the Fund a Cure family this year. Our son, Flynn, was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes in July 2023. It was a shock to our family. The first few weeks were very emotional with lots of ups and downs navigating through the world of T1D. Right away, we found the Breakthrough T1D website and ordered the Bag of Hope for Flynn. It was filled with lots of educational materials and the cuddly Rufus the Bear. It was amazing to receive this comfort for all of us in the beginning weeks.

We attended our first Hope Gala last year and it was an incredible experience. We were so happy to have found such an amazing organization to be a part of. Flynn’s Fighters was our team name for the 2024 One Walk. We had fun meeting other T1D families and raising money for T1D research.

Kyle has recently joined the Breakthrough T1D Greater Iowa Board of Directors. We are also in the process of getting our other three boys tested for T1D through TrialNet.

Our hope for Flynn and everyone with T1D is someday they will be able to take their devices off for good. We know everyone is working hard to make this hope a reality. Every dollar donated to Fund A Cure goes 100% to diabetes research and the fight to find a cure. We thank you for your support.

The Mertz Family