Rory and Wynette Haler of Butterfield have a cause close to their hearts: juvenile diabetes. It wasn’t always that way. Like many people confronted by the disease, Rory and Wynette were unaware of the sacrifices a sufferer of juvenile diabetes and their family must make simply to live day-by-day.
They were unaware until their daughter Keyana was diagnosed last October with type 1 juvenile diabetes at the age of 18 months. Now the Halers have a new lifestyle.
Caring for their daughter has become a daily challenge. Here is a typical day for Keyana:
7:00 a.m. glucose check, insulin shot, breakfast
9:30 a.m. glucose check, snack
12:00 p.m. glucose check, lunch
3:00 p.m. glucose check, snack
5:00 p.m. glucose check, insulin shot, supper
8:00 p.m. glucose check, snack
11:00 p.m. glucose check
2:00 a.m. glucose check
If Keyana’s blood sugar is low at any point, she needs to be treated and then rechecked. This means numerous pokes a day. Her meal and snack times are not flexible. Imagine living this way.
Rory and Wynette will be participating in the Walk to Cure Diabetes with the team name Keyana’s Quest for a Cure. The site to make donations in honor of Keyana is http://walk.jdrf. org/walker.cfm?id=87611275. All proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The family is also selling t-shirts in Keyana’s name.
About Juvenile Diabetes
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) was founded in 1970 by some parents of kids with diabetes. Since it began, JDRF has only been about one thing: finding a cure for diabetes. They are making amazing progress, but until there is a cure, helping to take care of the needs of people with diabetes, and their families and friends, is every bit as important.
Type 1 diabetes is a disease you never outgrow. More information in the Feb. 18 Plaindealer.
