my hero

from my daughter's face book page:

My son Travis is a shy kid. A sweet, mild mannered guy. And because of this, he won't ask you to himself to support his fight for a cure of Type 1 Diabetes as we walk with JDRF October 12th at Ledbetter. He won't ask you if you could donate a couple bucks to JDRF in support of the walk. He'll most likely not talk about his diabetes with you because he struggles with being different. He struggles with lows and highs, he cry's when his number drops too much from pain and sickness, and he's silly and weird when he gets too high. He has scar tissue forming under his precious skin from injections and his fingers are raw from pricking 8-10 times a day. But Travis won't tell you any of this. He's brave and frustrated and sad at times, but he's also a really happy kid who wants to play soccer and baseball in college and who wants more than anything to help find a cure for T1D. So, because he won't ask you to come because he's afraid no one will, I'm going to ask you myself, that on October 12th at 10:00 some of you will walk three miles and be one of "Travis's Homies" and support his fight, and so many others. 

a year ago may, my 11 year old grandson travis, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. chuck and i were in africa at the time we received the call. always the biggest fear while traveling. my daughter cried into the phone 'mom, we're in the hospital, it's travis.'

type 1 diabetes is a life changing disease. it's an every minute of every day disease, it never takes a rest. Type 1 diabetes is a life-threatening autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin. It strikes both children and adults suddenly and changes life as they know it forever. It cannot be prevented and there is no cure.
every bit of what is eaten is weighed or measured, counted...several times a day blood is checked with a poke of the finger and then injections are administered. travis has learned to give himself shots in his leg and arm and belly. it is managed, and as yet, there is no cure. twelve months ago i didn't know any of this.

he carries a refrigerated lunch box with him at all times. for his blood testing supplies and insulin. and as far as i know, he never complains. once, he asked his mom if she would hold it, and i heard her reply 'you need to get used to it son'. it's true, she was right, and she's doing an incredible job of helping managing travis's disease. yet i saw his small shoulders shrug down while reaching for that lunch box, and i took it putting it over my arm. i would carry the weight, of the box and i wished of this disease if only for a moment (i would take it forever, why couldn't it have been me?). and i wished so dearly for a little while, my grandson could be just a boy again.

the last photo of this post travis was showing what he was grateful for, last year at thanksgiving, we all, as a family wrote on leaves what we were thankful for, attaching them to a family tree. this year i'll write i'm grateful he's alive, that his type 1 diabetes is being managed (so grateful to my daughter and everyone in our family) and i'll be be forever grateful when a cure is found.

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i've struggled with this, how to write, stopping and starting over again...

if you are in the santa barbara area and would like to walk to support the cure for type 1 diabetes

please join us and our team (half our goal has already been raised), 

this years walk takes place october 12th, 2013

you can learn more by clicking on the link below,

thank you SO VERY MUCH, lori xxxxxxxxx

travis's homies