Meet Type 1saac, a superstar family team with JDRF One Walk Northeast PA. Even before Isaac was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) almost 2 years ago, the Bishops have been raising awareness and funding breakthroughs — and providing hope to the millions affected by this disease.

Read more about their story, as told by Isaac’s mother, Erin, and hear what being part of the One Walk community means to them:

“Our family had been contributing to JDRF for several years to support one of our family friends as they raised awareness and funds on behalf of their son who had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes many years earlier.  However, on July 3^rd, 2019 our motivation for finding a cure changed in an instant and became much more personal.  It was the moment the doctor walked into the room and said, “Isaac has Type 1 Diabetes.  Your next stop is the emergency room. I’ve already called and told them you are coming.  Then you’ll be transferred by ambulance to a children’s hospital where they will teach you how to manage this chronic disease.”  Our minds were whirling with this shocking news. How can this be true? What does this mean? This wasn’t supposed to happen!  We were to be leaving for our beach vacation in two days!

As we learned more about the signs of Type 1 Diabetes and how the lack of insulin affects the body, we learned that this diagnosis explained many things we had noticed but not put together as a larger issue.  We now know firsthand the struggles our friends had faced for years as we learned to deal with multiple daily insulin injections, counting carbs, high and low blood sugars, issues with technology and the constant monitoring required to keep Isaac alive and healthy.  Not only for today, but the decades to come.  We count ourselves blessed because our friends didn’t have all this technology at their fingertips when their son was diagnosed that we do now.

We have come a long way in the year and a half since our life changing day that July.  We are more confident with his management and he now has a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump.  Isaac also takes an active role in giving himself insulin and offering suggestions on how to treat high and low blood sugars and doses for his meals.  Though these technologies do not remove the vigilance required to manage this disease they are tools we use to our advantage to make wise decisions in his treatment.

Many other families like us can tell very similar stories.  Our hope, through our One Walk with JDRF is that we can educate others on the warning signs of Type 1 Diabetes, educate them about this chronic disease and help raise funds to find a cure so that we can turn Type One into Type None! 

We began by signing up for the One Walk in 2020.  Even though One Walk went virtual because of COVID 19, our family strapped on our tennis shoes, put on our team shirts, and walked our three mile walk that day as a family. Our team even won the t-shirt contest with our bright blue “Type 1saac” shirts! Due to social distancing many couldn’t join us, but they sent photos from their own walks that day and words of encouragement to Isaac.

We are excited about our team Type 1saac hitting the dusty trail again this year and excited to be adding at least one new team member! We continue to put our heads together to come up with new and creative ways to do our fundraising as well as educate others on the need to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes and to know the warning signs.

Although he is living with a chronic disease that currently does not have a cure, Isaac won’t let it get in the way of what he wants to do and the things he wishes to accomplish in his life.  He is our very own personal superhero!”

Join Isaac by registering your spring One Walk team or donating to today:

Walk in the fall? BIG NEWS! One Walk Philadelphia, Wilmington, Gloucester, Bucks County and Lehigh Valley websites will open on April 7^th. Mark your calendars to register online at walk.jdrf.org.