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Walk for a Cure raises awareness about Juvenile Diabetes
by Karina Gianola
As the temperature cools, there is an alternative to staying home with a heater or venturing out with a jacket and scarf this weekend. Instead, grab your walking gear and get some exercise-at the seventh annual Northern Shenandoah Valley Walk to Cure Diabetes.
The walk, a community service project of the Front Royal Rotary Club, will begin Saturday morning. Aimed at raising funds to help find a cure for diabetes, the six previous walks, combined, brought in $215,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Arlene Figgins, a diabetes nurse educator with Valley Health, wrote in an e-mail that Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases. The disease essentially prevents the body from producing enough of the hormone insulin, which converts glucose (or sugar) into energy needed to function.
Symptoms, she wrote, can come on quickly, and range from "thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, weight loss, fatigue and vision changes."
"Symptoms may also mimic the flu," Figgins added, or be accompanied by changes in behavior like wetting the bed.
The causes of Type 1 diabetes can be genetic, Figgins wrote, or come from exposure to viruses or chemicals.
For 6-year-old Gillian Jenkins, a kindergarten student at Ressie Jeffries, Type 1 diabetes has been a struggle for the majority of her life. She was diagnosed, said her grandmother Brucie Jenkins, in 2004.
"I had my biggest challenge with her earlier this year," Jenkins said. Gillian wanted a cake, but because of her disease, couldn't eat it. "She started to cry and said, 'I just wish I didn't have to be a diabetic.' So I stated to cry too."
Saturday will be the fourth time Gillian is involved with the diabetes walk. Her team, Gillian's Courage, is still tallying up donations.
Although there is plenty Gillian can do, Jenkins said some simple childhood events, like drinking a Slurpee or staying overnight at a friend's house, create challenges. There is too much sugar in the frozen drink, Jenkins said, and not everyone knows how to take care of someone with diabetes.
Jenkins said that when Gillian grows up, she has the same goal as the diabetes walk-to find a cure for the disease.
Carol Dodson, who has helped with the walk since it began in 2002, recently said this year's goal is to raise $45,000. Whether you are one person or an entire team, she said it is never too late to participate.
Registration for the walk begins at 9 a.m. at First Baptist Church. At 9:45 a.m., the pre-walk ceremonies will begin, and 10 a.m. marks the start of the walk. Lunch follows the walk at 10:45 a.m.
Visit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Web site at www.jdrf.org. For more information, contact Dodson at 540-636-3607 or carol.dodson@wachovia.com.
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