By Diane Gale Andreassi
CORRESPONDENT
At only 16 years of age, Mackenzie Stuenkel is an articulate, passionate ambassador for the American Diabetes Association, which makes it hard to imagine that she was once withdrawn and embarrassed by the disease.
Mackenzie, a youth ambassador for the ADA’s Tour de Cure, has raised more than $30,000 for diabetes research and this year, the 20th anniversary of the event, is her first with the Tour de Cure bike ride, which draws more than 900 riders annually.
“I started doing the race to build my confidence up,” she said. “I felt embarrassed and thought people might think I was different and they wouldn’t want to hang out with me. I found out I could be a normal teenager. It’s a process to build my confidence up and be proud of my life and not let diabetes control what I do. I want to reach out to people going through what I was going through.”
She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 6 years old, but it wasn’t too much of a surprise, because both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is prevalent in her extended family.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes the body doesn’t produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form and afflicts millions of Americans who have been diagnosed and many more who are unaware they are at high risk. In Type 2 diabetes either the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin.
Mackenzie wears an insulin pump, which gives her a constant supply of her medicine. She plays tennis and guitar; is a scholar student and a member of SADD and Interact groups at Brighton High School where she is a sophomore.
And she is busy training for the Tour de Cure. The southeast Michigan chapter of the ADA is hosting Rock Our Ride Tour de Cure offering a complimentary breakfast, rest stops with snacks and drinks, lunch by Carrabba’s Italian Grill, massages, kids’ zone, silent auction and live entertainment. Individuals and teams are encouraged to raise funds and sign up to ride one of several routes from 10 to 100 miles, Saturday, June 11 at Brighton High School.
Mackenzie said she took her embarrassment about having diabetes and used that energy to help others learn more about the disease.
“I know that living with diabetes is hard at any age,” Mackenzie said. “I have lived with diabetes as a young child and I have seen my grandma and uncle struggle with diabetes as adults, but some of the challenges I face as a teenager with diabetes is self confidence and acceptance by my peers.
“Sometimes I am excluded from get-togethers, because people are afraid of what might happen to me if I have a low or a high blood glucose. Some kids are even afraid to be friends with me. Sometimes I’m embarrassed and don’t check my sugar like I should, because I don’t want to be different. Being a teenager is hard; being a teenager with diabetes is even harder.”
Mackenzie has formed her own team for Tour de Cure, Team Mackenzie, even though she has never done a bike event and doesn’t even have a bike yet.
Her goal is to get 100 riders on her team and raise more than $20,000. She has also spent time working at the Diabetes Health Fair in Ann Arbor with the ADA. She even gave up a trip to Costa Rica to represent the ADA, because it was so important to her.
The Tour de Cure is a day to celebrate what they’ve achieved, she said.
“It’s a fun ride anyone can do,” she added.
The routes range from a virtual ride to 100 miles and Mackenzie wants to do the longest, so she’s trying to “get into shape.”
“Sometimes diabetes feels overwhelming, like it runs her life, but Mackenzie’s mission is to overcome it,” her mother, Kristine, said. “A life without diabetes is her dream, but in the meantime she doesn’t let diabetes define who she is.
“I’m very proud of her and she is a role model to me, because she has this positive attitude and she is a such a good person. We always call her the wise soul.”
Kristine explains that diabetes has afflicted her grandmother, all her grandmother’s siblings, her mother and her brother.
“In an event like the Tour de Cure where over 10 percent of the riders themselves have diabetes, either Type 1 or Type 2, it’s important people remember who they’re riding for — even if they’re not affected by diabetes themselves or have it in their families,” according to Anika Hallady, Tour De Cure special events manager. “Ambassadors, like Mackenzie, are an extension of our mission — to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. They are a reminder that you can have diabetes, but that you can still live a healthy and active life provided you manage your disease well and don’t let it define you as a person.”
The Tour kick-off party is scheduled for March 2, 6-8 p.m. at Fifth Avenue in Royal Oak.
For information and to register for Tour de Cure go to www.diabetes.org/michigantourdecure, or contact Halladay at ahalladay@diabetes.org or (248) 433-3830, ext. 6694. To date, the following organizations are helping to host the event with their sponsorship: Kroger Pharmacy, Michigan Podiatric Medical Association (MPMA), Carabba’s Italian Grill (Novi), WJBK TV2, The Oakland Press, American Cycle Fitness, Blue Care Network, Luma Electric, Novo Nordisk, Stout Irish Pub, Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce.
