Medfield resident Lilly Branka to be honored at Joslin Gala

Thirteen-year old Lilly Branka is getting more than her fair share of exercise after school, playing field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse on both club and school teams, but while other student-athletes refuel without a second thought between games, Lilly must carefully calculate her carbohydrates and blood sugar levels while playing. But the threat of dangerously low blood sugar after all this activity can last for Lilly up to 12 hours, and has led to many nights where her parents take turns checking her blood sugar level every half hour. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age three, Lilly has been a patient at Joslin Diabetes Center, which provides cutting-edge clinical care and research for a cure for diabetes, for 10 years now under the care of Chief Pediatric Officer Dr. Lori Laffel.

“I don’t really remember life without diabetes,” says Lilly. “Joslin has become like a home to me and my family and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

The young Medfield resident is being honored at Joslin Diabetes Center’s 16th Annual High Hopes Gala on November 21st at the Westin Copley Place in Boston as their 2015 Spotlight on Hope. Lilly has made an annual commitment to raise funds and awareness for Joslin during Diabetes Awareness Month each November, from selling blue rubber bracelets to hosting bake sales; she even raised funds for the International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child Programme to help children with diabetes in developing countries.

“I am so lucky to have the level of diabetes care that I do at Joslin, but I know that some people out there aren’t as lucky as me and if they don’t get the diabetes supplies that they need, they will die,” says Lilly. “I am doing all that I can to prevent that from happening.”

Lilly’s mother Emily Branka, remembers when Lilly first heard about Life for a Child and was amazed that her young daughter immediately realized the magnitude of the situation for these children and the life or death consequences of them not getting the supplies needed to manage their diabetes.

Now a student at The Rivers School in Weston, Lilly is described by her mom as “happy-go-lucky.” But diabetes is a disease that affects the whole family, and Emily and her husband have had years of sleepless nights, setting alarms every few hours to check Lilly’s blood sugar levels knowing the effects of nocturnal hypoglycemia can be dire.

Lilly has access to both the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and the OmniPod insulin pump. The middle schooler is able to have sleepovers with her friends and spend time away from home, partially because Emily and her husband can view their daughter’s glucose levels on their iPhones thanks to technology. During a recent stay at a summer camp, Lilly’s pump malfunctioned and she manually tested and injected herself with insulin over a period of 8 hours in the woods in Maine, an experience that Emily called “empowering” for her daughter; it showed she could manage her disease.

“Technology has come so far with diabetes care that we’ve come to rely on it,” says Emily Branka. “But technology does fail, and when it does – we’re grateful to have Joslin and its staff who truly serve as a lifeline.”

As the High Hopes Gala approaches, Lilly says her greatest hope is for Joslin to find a cure for the disease that affects over 29 million Americans.

“A cure before college would be ideal,” adds Emily. “But we are so thankful to Joslin and are confident that they will continue to make great strides toward finding a cure.”

The entire extended Branka family will accompany Lilly at this year’s High Hopes Gala, where she will accept the Spotlight on Hope Award in front of hundreds of Joslin supporters and fellow patients.

For more information on the Gala, please visit www.joslin.org/gala.