LAFAYETTE — Hundreds of local children, parents and supporters from throughout Acadiana will march for a cure for diabetes March 12 at Girard Park.
Crystall Young of Lafayette will be there with her entire family supporting her 2-year-old son Ean, who has suffered from diabetes for about a year.
More than 26 million Americans have diabetes, but most have Type 2. Type 2 is a metabolic disorder in which the body produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively.
Type 2 usually comes on later in life and can often, with effort, be controlled with diet, exercise and and, in some cases, regular insulin injections.
But Ean is one of an estimated 3 million Americans suffering with Type 1 diabetes, in which the body produces no insulin at all.
It tends to strikes suddenly, usually in early childhood, and, like Type 2, lasts a lifetime.
Both types 1 and 2 diabetes carry the constant threat of deadly complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, amputation and more.
Young, a mother of five, including Ean’s twin brother Ellis, knows all too well the heartbreak the disease can bring.
When Ean was 14 months old, she noticed his diaper was leaking, but assumed he simply needed a bigger size.
He was also beginning to fall behind his brother in terms of weight gain and seemed to always be thirsty.
Young became concerned and took Ean to her pediatrician who asked her to get some blood work done.
“He called a few hours later and told us to get to the hospital quickly,” she said.
Ean’s blood sugar level was more than 600, about six times the normal range of 90 to 120. He would spend the next three days at the hospital getting his blood sugar under control.
“It was really bad,” Young said. “He could have slipped into a coma. He could have died. We were just lucky we caught it early.”
Today, everything Ean eats is weighed and measured. His blood is checked about 15 times each day, and he takes insulin injections through a pump every few hours both day and night. Young must monitor him every few hours throughout the night, as well.
“Nobody could really prepare you for this,” she said.
Eating out is impossible. Even a short vacation requires days of preparation and planning.
While all this effort is helping to keep him alive and healthy, it is not something a 2-year-old can grasp.
“Whenever we have to change (his pump site), he just cries, ‘No bo-bo, no bo-bo,” Young said.
So far, Ellis is symptom free, she said, but there is a 50 percent change he will develop Type 1 diabetes, as well.
There is no cure, but the walk in Girard Park, one of hundreds throughout the nation, benefits research to help speed the day one is found.
The march is sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the leading charitable fundraiser and advocate of Type 1 diabetes research worldwide. Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.5 billion to diabetes research, including $107 million last year.
“We are putting money into all kinds of research,” said Young, who is helping to organize the local march with Elisa Fontenot, whose daughter also suffers with the disease. “There is a lot in the works, such as the artificial pancreas, but nothing is there yet.”
As for the walk, she called it a fun, family-oriented day.
“It is geared to the kids. We have fun jumps, balloons, face painting,” Young said. “Last year, we had a lot of walkers. We had over 100 on Ean’s team.”
The day is free and no registration is required, although Young said most participants donate $20 to $25 toward JDRF’s research.
Events in the park, which include plenty of information and support for diabetes sufferers and their families, start at 8 a.m. and continues throughout the day.
Local supporters said they hope to raise $100,000 during the event.
