East Cobb Dad Raising Awareness of Type 1 Diabetes

Staff Report

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. Type 1 is a chronic disease that requires constant monitoring. People with type 1 prick their fingers eight times a day or more and take insulin shots every time they eat at the very minimum. There is no day off, no time outs, no dealing with the disease later. There is a constant balance between your insulin intake and blood sugar. Despite the constant attention people still run the risk of too much or too little insulin, which can have life threatening consequences.

Type 1 diabetes can strike anyone at any stage of life. Scott Morrow found this out when his now 6 year-old daughter, Kate, was diagnosed with Type 1 at the age of 4. There was no history of type 1 in either Scott or his wife’s family prior to Kate. She was as healthy as any other 4 year old. About a week before the diagnosis Scott and his wife noticed that Kate was drinking an unusual amount of water and using the bathroom more often. On a whim they took Kate to her pediatrician who gave Kate a simple urine test. In that instant Scott and his family’s lives changed forever.

Kate was lucky in a sense, as she did not have to stay in a hospital for a week. She was diagnosed early enough so she could go home the day she was diagnosed. Most children that are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes usually end up in the hospital for a week because by the time the child is diagnosed they are in serious if not critical condition. Kate’s parents had to start the regiment of injecting Kate with insulin immediately.

Scott said that it took he and his wife about 30 minutes before they could build up the nerve to inject Kate for the first time (something that is now a bit of an after thought). The finger pricks were just as daunting. With some practice the finger pricks are now just a part of everyday life for them and Kate is now wearing an insulin pump.

After learning how to be Kate’s pancreas Scott is now on a mission to raise awareness of Type 1 diabetes.

Before Kate’s diagnosis Scott says he was very ignorant about Type 1 diabetes. Like most people he had heard of diabetes and remembers meeting someone along the way whose life was touch by the disease. But, he never really gave diabetes much thought beyond that. Now that he is very familiar with the disease he wants to tell Kate’s story so people can recognize the signs of type 1 and he wants to help fund a cure.

Scott says that the urine test for type 1 is so easy that it is such a shame for type 1 to go undiagnosed which ultimately leads to hospitalization.

According to the JDRF – the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research - Warning signs of T1D may occur suddenly and can include:

• Extreme thirst
• Frequent urination
• Drowsiness or lethargy
• Increased appetite
• Sudden weight loss
• Sudden vision changes
• Sugar in the urine
• Fruity odor on the breath
• Heavy or labored breathing
• Stupor or unconsciousness

Scott also wants people to know that insulin is not a cure for type 1 – there is no cure. Diabetes is a life long chronic disease that requires constant vigilance. The disease effects not only the person diagnosed with type 1 but also the entire family unit. Each family member - brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers – are affected. Every meal is carefully thought out, play dates are never routine, date night is met with anxiety, and school is extremely difficult and – out of sight is definitely not out of mind. There has not been a night since Kate’s diagnosis that Scott or his wife can sleep through the night because they are worried about a life threatening low from too much insulin.

As a part of Scott’s mission he is riding 70 miles around Lake Tahoe on September 13th with the JDRF to raise money for the ultimate cure. Prior to this upcoming ride Scott also rode 100 miles through Death Valley with the JDRF. Before his Death Valley ride Scott had not been on a bike in at 10 years.

Last year Scott raised over $6,000 with his Death Valley ride and this year his goal is $8,000. Scott is riding for the JDRF because they are the global leader in working with partners researching therapies for type 1 and ultimately curing the disease.

You can see Scott riding around East Cobb with his JDRF team or on the Silver Comet trail trying to get in shape for his ride.

To donate to Scott’s mission, please visit his page on JDRF.