Our daughter Olivia was diagnosed 5 years ago on June 20, 2016. It was a life changing shock to our family but we took on the diagnosis head strong and determined to make this transition as easy as possible for our daughter to live with and cope with on a daily basis. When we were in the hospital, we were given literature about Breakthrough T1D and read about starting a One Walk team. We immediately dove in and started our team and began fundraising. We thought it would be a great opportunity for Olivia to participate with her family and friends, and see that there are other children and families out there that deal with managing type 1 diabetes and she’s not alone in this fight.

We love that One Walk is is focused on nothing but love and support from all over. It brings such a warm overall feeling that we are all in this together to find a cure, and it makes our hearts full to see how strong we all gather together to turn Type 1 into Type NONE.

Deciding on the name for our team was pretty easy. Both of our daughters are dancers so we had to incorporate their talent and love for dance into the name so we decided on “The Dancing Diabetics”. Our theme has been pretty noticeable over the years since everyone that joins our walk comes sporting a pink “tutu” to represent our team. It’s been a lot of fun!

Olivia is an identical twin – her sister Veronica does not have type 1 diabetes. Her sister definitely jumped in quickly without any hesitation about being her “sister’s keeper”. She always puts her needs aside when it comes to Olivia. It has its moments when most of the attention and focus is on Olivia with managing her diabetes but we always make sure the same attention and focus is on Veronica as well, because no one wants to feel left out or not acknowledged. We also do special one on one trips with the girls. For instance, my husband will take Veronica dirt bike riding together since they both love the sport and I will take Olivia to the mall because what 12 year old doesn’t love to shop! It gives them the one on one time they both need to feel special, and its been very successful.

Without the research advancements that Breakthrough T1D has been striving for, I do not think we would be where we are today. I know many years ago when my sister was diagnosed, there was hardly any information, technology, support groups and communities that came together for one purpose. We are very thankful and blessed that Breakthrough T1D advocates for all T1D families.

We celebrated Olivia’s 5 year Diaversary at her favorite place in the world – her dance studio – surrounded by her family and friends. One thing we have all learned is that it’s never a failure but a lesson learned. We fix it and move on as a family. This condition is sometimes hard to endure and we long for the day when there is a cure. Until that day, we will remain on track because type 1 diabetes will NEVER HOLD US BACK!

Join Olivia and the Duigon family for One Walk. Register now!