Miles For Makenzie
Help us find a Cure for Type I Diabetes!
It is once again time to gear up for the JDRF Miles For Makenzie walk to cure diabetes. Here are the walk details:
City: Atlanta, GA 
Venue: Centennial Olympic Park
Date of Walk: 10/16/2010
Registration Start Time: 9:00a Walk Start Time: 9:30a
Length of Walk: 3 Miles
Sponsors:
Presented by: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia
Contact Person: Angie Hammond
Local Chapter: Georgia Chapter
Local Chapter Phone: (404)420-5990
Additional Info: Walk will take place rain or shine!
2010 Walk Letter
August 17, 2010
Dear Friends and Family,
As I sit down to write this letter, it is ironic that I am writing it today as today is the 10 year anniversary of Makenzie’s diagnosis. Although it has been 10 years and many things have happened during that time, I still remember the events leading up to the Doctor’s appointment as well as the appointment itself like it was yesterday. I remember that my then two year old daughter was always thirsty and began drinking an amazing amount of water, even drinking water straight from the pool. At first, I was a little grateful that she chose to drink water rather than juice. But then I remembered some of the course content from one of the classes that I was teaching that looked at excessive thirst as being a sign of diabetes. Although the thirst and excessive drinking was a huge sign, the thing that concerned me the most was that my little girl had stopped smiling and was lethargic. At two, Makenzie always smiled. She smiled when we thought she was great and she smiled even when she was in trouble. She was the happiest kid that I had ever met. People were drawn to her by her smile. In my gut, I not only knew that something was wrong, but I also knew what was wrong. At the appointment, I remember the words that the pediatrician spoke when he shared the sentence with me. He said “There is no easy way to say this…” I told him it was fine, that I worked with children with all types of disabilities and I could handle it. He then told me that my child had type- 1 diabetes. I remember being pretty calm and thinking, this will be fine. It won’t change our life too much. She will be ok. Then I heard the panic in his voice after he left the room and screamed, “I NEED AN ENDOCRINOLOGIST ON THE PHONE, NOW!!” My heart skipped a few beats and I began to realize that all our lives were about to be greatly changed, but hopefully not forever. The next thing that I knew, we were off to the hospital for the weekend. I really wish someone would have told us that I would need to take a toothbrush and possibly a change of clothes. That weekend at the hospital was the beginning of our now 10 year and counting journey of living with diabetes.
We have been so blessed to see the changes that have occurred within those past 10 years. The insulin is so much better now. It is more consistent and predictable. The insulin pump has been a great improvement in helping us control Makenzie’s diabetes, by helping us keep the seizures caused from low blood sugars mostly at bay, and in helping us live a more typical and not so regimented, scheduled life. I did not realize at the time, but at four years of age, Makenzie was the youngest child that our doctor put on the insulin pump. Now, it is common practice for our doctor to put children that young and younger on an insulin pump. The continuous blood glucose monitor is a work in progress for us as it helps us to see Makenzie’s blood glucose patterns; however, it is painful for her to wear and brings too much attention to her for her liking with its beeping. Luckily, improvements are being made to it and maybe she will give it a try again once it is upgraded. Currently, adults with type-1 are in trials with the artificial pancreas and we look forward to this technology being used with children in the near future. Great strides have been and are being made for children with type 1 diabetes. We are so thankful for you in that many of you have helped the researchers make these great strides in diabetes management.
Although great strides have been made, we still do not have a cure and we have had 10 years of the disease affecting the body of my little girl. So many people have said that we were lucky that Makenzie was so young when she was diagnosed in that she will not remember anything other than a healthy lifestyle and will not realize what she is missing. That may be somewhat true, but the disease has also had 10 years to potentially do damage to her body. Also, as Makenzie moves into adolescence, she has taken on the “I am invincible” attitude that most teens and pre-teens have. She is also going through what I hear many teens with type-1 go through which is: “I am tired of this and am not going to bother taking care of it.” She needs a break from the disease that does not allow rest. We are again losing the smile. It is replaced with “I hate diabetes!” We also hate the disease, but know that with work, it can be controlled rather than controlling. When Makenzie’s blood sugar levels are high, she is inconsistent, angry, sometimes hyper, sometimes lethargic, and unable to concentrate. She does not smile! She is controlled. When her blood sugar levels are within range, she is consistent, able to concentrate, generally happy, a delight to be around, and she smiles!! She is in control. We know that we are so fortunate in that although Makenzie has a chronic disease; it is one that can be controlled and does not have to have life-threatening, devastating results. However, it is an incredibly demanding disease that is often too much for adults to handle, much less a child that does not remember life before diabetes. We are diligently working with Makenzie to try to help her consistently find her smile and to help her control diabetes so that she does not have to later live with complications such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, or a stroke.Please help us or continue to help us find a cure for diabetes before it has a chance to do any more damage to Makenzie. Here are some ways that you can help:
- Collect donations and walk with us on 10/16/2010 at Centennial Olympic Park - sign up HERE
- Send a DONATION to help fund the researchers so that they can find a cure.
- Pray that God will give the researchers the knowledge and wisdom needed to defeat this disease.
- Pray for Makenzie that she will feel well and that she will not suffer from serious long-term effects of the disease such as kidney failure, blindness, and heart disease.
Thank you and God bless!
David, Kelle, Morgan, Makenzie and Davis
4201 St. Moritz Ct.
Marietta, GA 30062
C678-575-5261
dlaushey1@gmail.com
