Kelby – Age 12

On September 21, 2011, Kelby was taken to urgent care with a suspicion of having a UTI or Bladder Infection. After many tests, the physician came in and said, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Kelby does not have a UTI or BI. The bad news is that I believe he may have diabetes. His blood glucose numbers are over 500. You need to go to the UW Emergency Department; they’re waiting for you.” At the Children’s Hospital, Kelby was confirmed as having T1D and began his insulin treatments. He would give himself 3 injections of rapid acting insulin with his meals, and a long acting insulin at bed daily. He would test his blood glucose numbers up to 10 times a day.

With T1D, a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone essential to turning food into energy. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity.

Kelby’s parents, Heidi and Andy, were determined to have him understand that he can live a normal, happy life living with T1D. They looked up artists, athletes and celebrities that were open about having T1D such as Eric Paslay, Ty Cobb, Sean Busby, Bobby Clark, Jay Cutler, and many others, to show that type 1 diabetes can be managed.

In 2012, Kelby watched his sister compete in the USA Track & Field (USATF) Regional Qualifier. He showed some interest in the throwing events of shot put and discus. He said that the following year, he wanted to compete. That fall, his parents put together a family team and Kelby was able to earn the Golden Sneaker award for his efforts. The following year, Kelby decided to dual sport, playing baseball and practicing for track. Summer came and he was able to qualify for the USATF National Qualifier. While he and his sister fell short of qualifying for Nationals, the spark was ignited for his love of competing.

In 2014, Kelby had 2 separate hypoglycemic attacks—where his blood glucose levels dropped dangerously low. He suffered a seizure each time; the second time he had an overnight stay at the American Family Children’s Hospital for further testing to be sure he wasn’t also epileptic. He was cleared of epilepsy and discharged. We went home, packed, and took off for yet another track meet where Kelby became a state champion winning his javelin event.

Kelby’s track success has continued over the years and he is currently on his way to another stellar season. This week, Kelby is participating at Nationals in Ypsilanti, MI. Prior to leaving for Nationals, Kelby has already become an AAU Junior Olympics qualifier in all three throwing events (javelin, discus, and shot put). He has established a PR (personal record) for all three disciplines, specifically earning All American in discus and in the title of USATF State Champion in javelin.

Kelby has learned that having diabetes isn’t the end of the world. He is showing others that despite being diabetic, you can live a normal, active life; you just have to pay extra attention to the way you are feeling and what your body is telling you. Through all the injections he has endured, the 10+ finger pokes each day to test his blood glucose levels, and the stays in the hospital for diabetes related incidents, he remains hopeful that a cure will be found.

“Never give up and keep fighting,” is Kelby’s advice to everyone. “You can keep doing whatever you want to do.”

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Kelby and his family will be participating in this year’s JDRF One Walk in Madison, you can visit their page to learn more! Thank you, Kelby, for sharing your story.

If you want to submit a story about your diabetes journey like Kelby, please contact Jen Allen. You can also join Kelby at the JDRF One Walk – Madison by visiting walk.jdrf.org.