'A Community United By One Cause:' Lisle's Breakthrough T1D Walk Rallies For A Cure

LISLE, IL — Some 2,000 people came out Sunday morning to join the Breakthrough T1D Walk in Lisle to raise funds and awareness for Type 1 diabetes. The event raised $795,779, which was 99 percent of its goal for helping to fund Type 1 diabetes research.

Sophia Brady, 17, of Oswego, knows firsthand why Type 1 diabetes research is so crucial. Brady, a Breakthrough T1D Youth Ambassador, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 14.

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Brady and another Breakthrough T1D Youth Leadership Committee member Ariel gave a speech at the Oct. 4 walk in Chicago.

"One of my favorite moments during the walk was being able to see everyone's community flags, which represent their connection to T1D, being waved in unison from up on stage," Brady told Patch.

For Brady, Type 1 diabetes awareness is a constant, unavoidable part of life. Like all people living with Type 1 diabetes, she requires subcutaneous insulin to live. Some Type 1 diabetics take insulin injections. Brady wears an insulin pump and must count carbohydrates and pre-bolus before every meal to avoid blood sugar spikes.

Like all people living with Type 1 diabetes, Brady must carefully account for physical activity, illness, stress, outside temperature and other circumstances that can impact blood sugar.

Brady is an athlete and must sometimes sit out of practice if her blood sugar is low.

"In my opinion the hardest parts about living with Type 1 diabetes are having to sit out of practice
because my blood sugar is low, not being able to eat or drink the same things as my friends and finding
it difficult for my friends or family to understand exactly how it feels to live with diabetes," Brady told Patch.

"There are obviously a lot more challenges that I didn't mention, but those are some of the most common ones I
experience on a day-to-day basis. It's hard to manage because diabetes is something you have to think about in everything you do, and you can't just stop thinking about it because you want to."

Brady said the challenges of living with Type 1 diabetes extend beyond the physical limitations. She said many people confuse Type 1 diabetes with Type 2 diabetes, not realizing that Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease.

She said, "I think that when most people hear the Type 1 diabetes, it automatically has a negative connotation.
Many people think that all diabetes is caused by diet and lifestyle, but in reality, that is not true. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The exact causes are still not fully understood, but type 1 diabetes is not caused by diet or
lifestyle."

Brady said even her friends get confused about the type of diabetes she lives with and that people often don't realize the work that's involved in managing the condition or how to manage high or low blood sugar emergencies.

"I wish others were more educated on insulin and blood sugar and how they work together, because
a lot of times when my blood sugar is low, I've had people tell me to take more insulin, which is the last thing I would want to do in that situation," Brady said.

She added, "I also wish that more people knew just how much someone with diabetes goes through each day. Sometimes people don't understand what it's like to live with a chronic condition where there are no days off or breaks."

Brady told Patch the Breakthrough T1D walks have heartened her with a community who understands what it's like living with Type 1 diabetes minute by minute.

She said she's also grateful for what the walk's do to help foster hope for an eventual cure for Type 1 diabetes.

"To me, walks are a way to bring together a community united by one cause, and that cause is finding cures for Type 1 diabetes. The energy I saw at my first walk is the type
of energy that moves research forward."

Since 1970, Breakthrough T1D, formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, has been instrumental in Type 1 diabetes research and development. Their T1D walks have raised more than $1 billion to fund Type 1 diabetes research throughout the world.