The introduction to my life as a person living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) began in December of 1997.  I had gotten the flu like so many of us do.  We now believe that it was this flu virus that triggered the autoimmune response to cause the attack of the beta cells of my pancreas, which resulted in a life-long type 1 diabetes diagnosis. There had been no history of the disease in my family. By the end of February, I had lost 35 pounds, without trying, and exhibited every one of the classic symptoms of type 1 diabetes.  Thankfully, my wife insisted that I go to the doctor.  She may have saved my life then and continues to do so through the “highs and lows” of this life-long affliction.  I was 29 years old.  Not the thought most people have when thinking of “juvenile diabetes”, or as we prefer it called T1D.

Although the disease is more prevalent in the younger population, as young as under the age of 2, more and more individuals are being diagnosed at an older age as well.  Upon going to the doctor on 3/3/98, my fasting blood sugar was a mere 432 and my A1C was 16.4.  It won’t surprise any person who lives with T1D that although I forget my family’s birthdays at times, those numbers from 22 years ago will forever be engrained to my memory.  It has had such an impact on our family that my wife developed and produced a video aimed at helping diagnosed children understand the condition in their language. It is our hope that education through video will help ease the anxiety that a T1D diagnosis brings to the patient and the loved ones around them. 

With your support, we can and will put an end to this disease in our generation or the next.  Technology has made it a whole lot easier to manage day to day, but it still is a full-time job 24/7 365 to manage and deal with the “ups and downs”.  There are no weekends, nights, vacations or holidays off.  We all know this is a tough time to ask for financial support, but please consider donating as little or as much as you can as we all fight to make T1D, T1DONE!   

With Gratitude, 

Scott Brown