Fund A Cure with the Zilinskas Family | Breakthrough T1D Wisconsin Gala 2026

About The Zilinskas Family

Dear Friends and Family,

We are incredibly honored to announce that our family has been selected to be the featured Fund A Cure Family at the Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) Gala on March 7, 2026.

Our journey began just over two years ago on May 26, 2023.  Leading up to that day, Oliver had seemed more tired than usual.  He was excessively thirsty and using the bathroom more than usual all while losing over 15lbs on his 10 year old body.  Each symptom, alone, could be easily explained away.  Oliver’s doctor had talked to him about trying to drink more water; that would explain his bathroom usage.  Maybe he was trying to get more healthy and watching what he ate; thinning out made sense. Growth and development; that could explain his increased tiredness.

The realization that something was terribly wrong became evident as we were getting Oliver ready for his 4th grade orchestra concert at school.  The plan was for him to wear the same dress pants that he had worn the prior year, which shouldn’t have been a problem as they had an adjustable waist.  Oliver put on his pants and the adjustable elastic waist was cinched to their tightest setting and his pants slid right off.  I remember the feeling of that pit in my stomach and knew we had to get him in to his doctor.

We called his pediatrician and they had us go in that following morning.  They immediately did a urine test and a finger poke to measure his blood sugars.  The glucometer read “HIGH”.  That meant his blood glucose was so high the machine could not even read it properly.  We were instructed to take him to Children’s Hospital where we were met at the door by a team of nurses and doctors.  As tears appeared and fear of what this all meant took over, we received the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. Oliver was admitted to the PICU, finger pokes and blood work were started. He had a glucose of 665mg/dL and an A1c of 15.4%

Three nights were spent in the hospital with Oliver reading about diabetes, insulin, pancreas function and islet cells.  We didn’t know much about Type 1 Diabetes, not to mention raising a child with this autoimmune disease. We tried to educate ourselves on what was happening to our son.

As Oliver started to gradually feel better while in the hospital, the nurses began teaching us about what was to become our new normal; finger pokes, counting carbs, insulin dosing, high blood sugars and low blood sugars.  Watching our child inject himself with insulin for the first time was heart wrenching; feeling both proud that he is taking control of this disease and crushed that he should have to do so. Welcome to our new life.

Over the past two years, Oliver has been an absolute champ.  He manages sleepovers, birthday parties, soccer, and lacrosse to make sure he keeps his blood sugars in range. He has done presentations at school to teach other students and teachers about T1D. Oliver has been surrounded by not only his family, but also friends, and community members, that have been there to support him.  He is also a Youth Ambassador for Breakthrough T1D, participating in community events to raise awareness for this disease.  Oliver is an Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver and is currently taking lessons to one day become a pilot.  He does not let T1D stop him from his dreams.

Because of all the funding Breakthrough T1D has received, Oliver has been able to have a pretty normal life with the use of some of the best technologies available.  He wears a Continuous Glucose Monitor to track his blood sugars and an insulin pump to help keep his glucose in range.  He still has to count carbs, fill his insulin pump every 3 days, and change his CGM every 10 days.  As heartbreaking as it is to see your child get diagnosed with a chronic disease, we couldn’t be more hopeful for Breakthrough T1D to continue on their path to helping fund research and eventually finding a cure.

Our family would be grateful if you would consider attending the One Night, One Mission Breakthrough T1D Gala on March 7th in Milwaukee!  This event is an inspirational evening to help support research and advancements in Type 1 Diabetes, so the next family going through this may have access to even greater technologies than we did.  Our family will be featured at the Gala, while supporting funding a cure.  Our goal is to do what we can to find a cure and we will stop at nothing short of that.

Please consider any level of support that is comfortable for you.  Some of the options available to show your support for not only Oliver and our family, but for every person living with T1D and their families, is to purchase a ticket to the Gala, host a table, donate auction items, or make a Fund A Cure donation.  Your tax-deductible gift will make an impact on every person facing the daily challenges of Type One Diabetes.

On behalf of our entire family, we are extremely humbled to be a part of something so amazing!

 

With love and gratitude,

The Zilinskas Family