Dylan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age 10 in a time of transition that could have been totally overwhelming. Her family had just moved, she started a new school, she was adjusting to a new life with T1D management, and her world was completely turned upside down. Shortly thereafter – a global pandemic turned the rest world upside down as well. Dylan could have been defeated, but she took on her diagnosis with a spirit of resilience and maturity, not letting this overwhelming disease get in the way of her determination to be a strong, independent, change-maker.

 Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes

Typically energetic and spunky, 10-year-old Dylan started losing a lot weight, which caught the attention of her parents, Denise and Ray. During a routine visit to the pediatrician, she agreed that Dylan was looking unusually thin for a growing pre-teen.  In advance of their follow-up visit, the family did some bloodwork to rule out anything. At a family dinner over burgers and fries, Denise’s phone rang with news that would change their lives: Dylan’s blood sugars were in the 900s. They needed to get to the emergency room immediately. “Is this why I have been thirsty, tired, and barely able to walk?” Dylan wondered.

The family rushed from Bellingham to Seattle Children’s, where Dylan was immediately admitted to the endocrinology unit. The doctors ran additional tests to confirm what they already knew: Dylan had Type 1 diabetes. “Ever since that day,” Dylan says, “I have been on a 24/7 job that my friends, teachers, and people I meet do not understand. I hated the feeling that I had nobody to connect this disease with, to help talk about how I felt when I was scared or frustrated.” Dylan sometimes still feels frustrated by the constant time and care necessary to manage her T1D. Soon to be 13, Dylan wishes things were easier, like sleepovers at a friend’s house or soccer practice. “I’m still frustrated that I can’t run around without drinking a juice, that I have to bring a bag everywhere I go, and all the anxiety that comes with this disease.”

Learning to Live with Type 1 diabetes

Living with T1D is not always easy. Fear of hypoglycemia and the myriad responsibilities of diabetes management can make Dylan feel anxious. Despite the frustrations and hurdles, Dylan marches forward and continues to be an inspiration to her friends and family. From picking out her preferred insulin pump and changing her own sites to educating friends about the (literal) highs and lows of life with T1D, Dylan aims to take on much of the responsibility of her diabetes with maturity, strength, and resilience.

Fighting for a Cure

Dylan shares her T1D story because she wants other kids with the disease to know that no matter how isolated T1D might make them feel, they are part of a community. “Maybe most important,” she says, “is knowing you are not alone. We are all in this fight together and we won’t

give up until we find a cure.” To Dylan, a cure for T1D would mean total freedom and the ability to experience the ease of childhood again. “Finding a cure for this disease that has robbed people of their ability to be a fun-loving kid is a day that cannot come too soon.”  Will you join Dylan and JDRF in the Fight for a Cure for T1D?

Drive Our Mission

Thanks to your generous support, every dollar we raise helps fuel critical T1D research. For Dylan – and the millions of others living with type 1 – we fight to make it easier to live with T1D, and finally bring to our loved ones the cures they so need and hope for. The engine driving this mission momentum is the talent, inspiration, and passion of the T1D community.

Please consider a gift to JDRF to Light the Way to a Cure. A 100% tax deductible gift from you today will help drive forward JDRF’s critical research projects to cure, prevent, and treat T1D.