Imagine...

For those of you who are parents, think back to the last time your child was sick. Your little one probably felt awful or at the very least not themselves, and you probably spent a night (or even two or three) without much sleep, exhausted but worried and checking on them throughout the night.

Now imagine if this scenario was every day, every night...and there was no end in sight. No time you could tell your child when they might feel better.

I have a lot of very important ladies in my life. Today I'd like to tell you about my sister, Brenda and her daughter, Abby.

When Abby was only 2 years old, she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. In an instant, her life forever changed, as did the lives of my sister and the rest of their family. For my sister, she went from being a mom to also being a pancreas for her daughter. She immediately picked up where Abby's little body had given out and took charge of her testing, her carb counting, her food intake, and her insulin.

To me, she turned into Superwoman that day. It has been 8 years now, and she has been a force. If one person could singlehandedly change the course of Type 1 Diabetes, it has met its match in her. She has spent the last 8 years researching, raising money, and trying to educate people who still think that diet and exercise will cure Type 1 Diabetes. (Sidenote: It absolutely will NOT. Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes are NOT the same thing.)

All the while, she has continued to raise her beautiful children and her sweet Abby, who is growing into such a kind, sweet, and loving girl.

I can't even tell you the number of needles she has had to give. I bet she could. I can't tell you the amount of worry she has felt, the number of carbs she has counted and the math she has done to measure out just the right amount of insulin, all the while knowing that even on the days everything goes perfectly, Abby's body can still decide to have a scary low.

I can't tell you what it did to her a few years ago when Abby's numbers dropped so low (which can happen during the night) that she had seizures one morning and had to be hospitalized. I can imagine though...and I know I don't want any of them to have to go through that again.

I want Abby, and all of the other children with Type 1 Diabetes, to be able to run and play without having to worry that their numbers will drop too low. I want them to be free of the precarious dance between the carb count and the insulin, the finger pricks, the needles, the doctor's appointments, and the hospitalizations. At its unthinkable worst, I don't want their parents to have to worry that they won't wake up one morning.

I want them all to sleep easy at night and for the parents to be able to tell their children that there is a cure, and that there IS a time they are going to feel better and be free of this.

Insulin is NOT a cure. The research is being done, and I feel like they are so close...that we could actually see a CURE come in Abby's lifetime.

Imagine that. :)

Abby's first medic alert bracelet, from when she was 2, is on the left.

There is no greater force in this world than a parent on a mission.

Their worst day. Insulin is NOT a cure.

Abby girl now. :) The flyer for this year's fundraising event in support of JDRF.