For Isaia
I'm jumping for a great cause!
I'm jumping out of a plane to support JDRF in their mission to find a cure for t1d.
In June 2020 when isaia was 12 years old, his and his family’s life changed forever.
After his parents noticed that he had lost a drastic amount of weight and appeared be unwell a lot of the time they began to have concerns about his health.
Isaia became critically unwell at home and was taken to the emergency department where he was identified as being in ketoacidosis (life threateningly Hugh blood sugar levels) due to undiagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus.
After an lengthy hospital admission, hundreds of needle pricks, insulin infusions and countless hours spent with specialists learning about how to manage diabetes - isaia was discharged home where he began a new life as an adolescent managing type 1 diabetes.
With the love and support of his family and friends, isaia has adapted to his new way of life with incredible bravery and maturity beyond his years. But this has not come easily.
Each year isaia will test his blood sugar levels thousands of times, inject insulin multiple times a day, strictly monitor his diet and manage unexpected changes to his diabetes due to common illnesses that the non-diabetic population do not have to think twice about.
Type I diabetes will continue to be at the forefront of isaias mind as he grows up, and it will impact decisions he makes and opportunities he has.
Isaia will need to declare he has diabetes to Service NSW when he applies for his driver’s license this year, he will may not be eligible to pursue certain careers or job opportunities due to the nature of his illness, he will have to be cautious when celebrating with his friends when he turns 18 as alcohol can significantly impact blood sugar levels…and he will also need to be aware that his future children are up to 15xs more likely to develop diabetes.
It’s 2023 and it is time that something like diabetes is cured.
If we have the money and technology to send people to space, why don’t we have the ability to give isaia and other people living with diabetes their quality of life back?
