Dear Friends and Family,
My name is Kaylee, and I am nine years old, and I have Type 1 Diabetes. I got diabetes when I was only two years old,
so I don’t remember what I was like before I had it.
Every day, I have to check my blood sugar before I eat, before I play and before I go to bed. When I am sick, I have to
check it about every two hours. My blood sugar has been lower than 17 before, and it has been higher than 500. I get about
five shots a day, sometimes even more than that.
When my blood sugar is low, I have to bring it up by drinking juice. If I can’t swallow, my mom rubs frosting on
my gums. I have been low lots of times. It feels like someone is ripping my stomach out and I feel dizzy and my head hurts
really bad. I don’t recognize anyone when I am low, and I have no idea what is going on. I was so low one time, my mom
had to give me a special shot called Glucagon, and I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Being low is very scary and
I don’t like it at all.
When my blood sugar is high, I get really thirsty and I have to check for ketones. Ketones are not good for diabetics.
They mean danger. If I have them for a long time, I have to go to the hospital to get an IV. I also have to get extra shots.
I sometimes end up getting a shot about every two hours.
If my blood sugar is to low or too high, I can’t go outside and play until my blood sugar is back to normal, and
sometimes that seems like it takes forever.
If I don’t take care of my diabetes now, when I get older, it could lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart disease
and nerve damage.
Every year, we walk with the JDRF and lots of other families, so that we can find a cure for diabetes. The JDRF was started
in 1970, by a family whose daughter had diabetes. JDRF has funded more than $900 million to diabetes research and will not
stop until a cure is found.
I know one day we will find a cure, but we need all the help we can get, so I would like for you to join my team Kaylee’s
Krew and walk with us on September 29th with the JDRF and thousands of others at Victory Park @ the American Airlines
Center. I promise you will have lots of fun and you won’t forget it. There will be food and drinks and games for everyone
to play. You can bring the whole family, and you can even bring your dog.
Love
Kaylee