Welcome to our 2018 JDRF One Walk Team Spotlights, a series dedicated to celebrating the most important part of JDRF One Walk – YOU! Registration for One Walk Philadelphia is open, and there’s plenty of time to fundraise. All the hard work culminates in a day of fun at the Philadelphia Art Museum on Sunday, October 28!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Teams like Brendan’s Braves are hardly a dime a dozen. It’s been 12 years since the Shanahan family formed their first Walk team, the same year Brendan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). A whopping $44,000 fundraising dollars later, and Brendan’s Braves is gearing up for another successful Philadelphia event!

Even though Brendan is now a sophomore at West Chester University, the Shanahans resolved to dedicate their time, talents, and passion to making their twelfth Walk one for the books. We are so inspired by their commitment, hard work, and enthusiasm, and we hope you’ll join this amazing family on Walk Day!

Read more below to find what JDRF means to the Shanahan family, as told by Brendan’s mother, Jackie.

We decided right from the diagnosis that this would be a “family thing.”

What is your type 1 diabetes (T1D) connection? Tell us about your loved one(s) living with T1D.

Our T1D connection is our son, Brendan. He was diagnosed in 2006 at age seven, the August before starting second grade. We were on vacation at the shore and noticed his weight loss, change in appetite, and frequent bathroom visits. We came home and called the doctor, who told us to take him right to the hospital. It was there that he was diagnosed with T1D with a blood-sugar level of over 700. After four days in the hospital, numerous classes on how to manage his diabetes, and quite a few tears, Brendan came home to a whole different lifestyle.

It was a difficult adjustment for Brendan and for us as a family. We decided right from the diagnosis that this would be a “family thing.” By that I mean we decided that we as a family were going to help manage Brendan’s diabetes. We would join him in the dietary changes he needed to make at that time, and we would do what we could to help him in any struggles he would have along the way with diabetes.

Brendan amazed us right from the start! He never let diabetes get him down or keep him from doing anything he wanted to do. He has always been a very athletic person, so when he wanted to try a new sport, he made it work. We learned to check his sugar before practice and games for baseball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and track. He learned how to adjust his sugar to prevent lows. He was able to go on an insulin pump after only a year, and he learned how to use it at only eight years old.

Brendan is now a sophomore at West Chester University. He lives at college, still uses a pump and now uses a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor as well. He is an avid weight lifter and athlete, and he is studying for his degree in History Education. We’ve come a long way since those first days after diagnosis. Now the tears are for all the milestones he is making in life in spite of T1D—or maybe also because of it.

We contacted everyone we could think of and asked them to donate and join our team—and they did!

Why did you decide to get involved with JDRF and the Philly Walk? How did Brendan’s Braves start?

When Brendan was in the hospital after diagnosis, someone on the hospital staff suggested looking into JDRF for all their resources, especially regarding his care at school and having a 504 Plan, etc. We looked up JDRF online and found out about the Walk.

Right away, we wanted to participate. However, this was August 2006 and the Walk was in October. We were not up to forming a large team or fundraising, so we just participated that year as a family. In 2007, we formed Brendan’s Braves! We contacted everyone we could think of and asked them to donate and join our team—and they did! Since then, we usually have between 20 and 40 people walk with us, and we raise between $3,000 and $6,000 each year.

How do you fundraise for the Philly Walk?

We fundraise mostly through our family, friends, and work. We have a large and generous family that has lovingly donated a great deal of money over the years to this cause. Many of them have taken it upon themselves to fundraise as well. We also fundraise through the Teamsters Union. My husband—Brendan’s dad—is a Teamster, so we started sending letters to all the Local Unions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. They responded and very generously! They, along with our family and friends, have been very faithful contributors over the past 12 years.

Do you have a favorite part of One Walk or a favorite One Walk story? 

We have both! Our favorite parts of One Walk are the talks before the Walk and the Countdown. It gets us all pumped up and rearing to go! It also gives us a lot of comfort to know how many people are going through the same things our family faces on a daily basis.

Our favorite One Walk story is when we went to the Walk the year of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. We thought the Walk would be canceled, but it wasn’t. Quite a few team members called to say they did not want to come because of the impending storms, but Brendan’s Braves represented! About 10 of us showed up from our team, and it was a great Walk. The kids will always remember that year because as we finished the Walk, we got the call on our cell phone that school would be closed for the next two days! Good times, good times!

This may be a difficult time for you and your family, but eventually it will become a new normal and JDRF will get you there.

How has JDRF’s support made a difference for you and your family?

JDRF has made such a difference for our family. Being a part of One Walk has given us the emotional support we so desperately looked for since Brendan’s diagnosis, as well as the monetary support to make life-saving changes in medicine for Brendan’s future. It never ceases to amaze us how far research has come in the field of T1D since Brendan was diagnosed, and JDRF is leading those advancements.

JDRF has also been the go-to resource for us for Brendan’s care at school, for knowing the laws for those with T1D, for learning about reasonable accommodations, and child advocacy. Anytime we have had a question about T1D, it was JDRF that we turned to first for answers. Now I have the pleasure of volunteering as a One Walk Family Team Coach each year, and I get to pass onto others my love and gratitude for JDRF!

What would you tell someone with T1D or a newly diagnosed family about JDRF?

I would tell them, “Go to the website! Join the Walk! Join a JDRF support group! Anything you want to know about T1D, JDRF can tell you!” This may be a difficult time for you and your family, but eventually it will become a new normal and JDRF will get you there.

We have never met a more dedicated group of people than we have through JDRF. Everyone we have ever met, worked with, spoken to or that was affiliated in any way with JDRF has impressed us with their kindness, generosity of time, hard work and faithfulness to the cause of finding a cure for T1D. It is a true privilege to be a part of this group!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you registered for One Walk Philadelphia yet? Visit walk.jdrf.org/philadelphia to start or join a team. For more information about the JDRF One Walk program, or to find a Walk location near you, please visit walk.jdrf.org.