Dear Friends and Family,
As most of you know I am a juvenile diabetic and have been since I was 7 years old. I remember the day I was diagnosed like it was yesterday... I felt so sick and weak. I had been feeling very bad for about two weeks and was losing a great deal of weight. I remember that I could never quench my thirst and I was drinking gallons of water a day which lead to going to the bathroom constantly. I didn't feel like myself and everyone around me seemed to notice. My teachers worried when I didn't even have enough energy to participate in our fieldtrip activities and my parents couldn't understand what was wrong with me when I didn't want to go out and play with my friends or go shopping. I had been a lively and fun 7 year old little girl but I turned into a sick, lifeless ragdoll. My Mom soon realized that this was no normal sickness and took me to my pediatrician. There my doctor checked my blood sugar level and immediately diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. My Mom rushed me to the hospital where they poked and prodded at me until they had all the answers about my new disease. When the doctors told me I had diabetes I didn't know what that meant but from the looks on my Mom and Daddy's face I knew it was very serious. I spent an entire week in Scottish Rite recovering from extremely high blood sugars, dehydration and large amounts of keytones running through my body. That week I also went through an overwhelming amount of classes to train me for my completely new life, because a week in the hospital was only the beginning. They explained to me what diabetes was and told me that an organ in my body called a pancreas that produced insulin just stopped working and they didn't know why. They said it wasn't my fault that it stopped working but that from then on I would have to check my blood sugar levels frequently, control everything I ate, and take insulin shots several times a day until the scientist found a cure for my disease. I am still waiting on that cure.
I am 19 years old now and soon I will celebrate my 20th Birthday and my 12th year living with juvenile diabetes. My daily routine is still a very demanding schedule of poking my fingers, taking insulin, eating the right amount of food, and worrying about every move I make in order to keep blood sugars in range. I check my blood sugars 8-12 times a day and I'm constantly pumping insulin through my pump site, which I change every 2-3 days. In my lifetime I have checked my blood sugar move than 52,560 times, given myself about 17,520 shots, and changed my pump site about 2,190 times. Although diabetes hasn't stopped me from living life to the fullest and achieving my goals, I still dream of a life without diabetes.
I am the only person in my family with type 1 diabetes. Most people don't know that it can strike any family at anytime and that you can never grow out of it. I will be insulin dependent for the rest of my life. But insulin is NOT a cure, it's my life support. Every day I put great effort into doing things I don't want to do and hoping that I do not develop the complications associated with diabetes. You see, the longer I have diabetes the more likely I am to develop complications such as kidney disease, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and nerve damage leading to amputation. Even if I do everything I am supposed to I can still develop these complications. A cure is the only way out, and without monetary support, a cure will forever be just a dream.
This is where the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation comes in. JDRF gives more resources to juvenile diabetes research than any nonprofit, nongovernmental organization in the world. Over 85% of every dollar raised for JDRF is channeled directly into research efforts. Since 1970, they have provided over $1.4 billion to diabetes research. On Saturday October 16, I will be walking in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes with my friends and family. My team and I are asking for your support to help CURE my disease and the 24 million others just like me with living with juvenile diabetes. If you would like you can join my walk team and personally help to raise money for JDRF or if you are able to, please support us by making your check payable to JDRF and mail it to my address by October 15th. For other ways to donate money to finding a cure for diabetes, go to http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87759166 and press donate to this walker.
Thank you for your donations and support! It truly means the world to me!!!
Love, Julie Verdetto and Family
8101 River Ridge Dr. Canton, GA 30114
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whats the name of this song?????????? i love it
stroketeen 2 years ago
its called Ben's Song by Jon Allmett
it may be on itunes but Jon wass one of my really good friends. All of his songs are really great.
iheartbrits 2 years ago