Why Should You Give to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation?

For those who are interested, below is our annual letter about Mary Morgan's JDRF Walk. My sister told me it was like receiving a Christmas update every year. We are so proud that MM lives and thrives with Type 1. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Dear friends,

As I draft this fourth letter from our family asking for your support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), I am sitting close to Mary Morgan, listening to her breathing and stroking her hair. She came home from school today with a blood sugar reading of 475. This is four times higher than a safe and normal range. The immediate effects on her body are dehydration and exhaustion.

For the next several hours, she will rest, drink water, and I will monitor her blood sugar with hourly finger sticks and infuse insulin as needed. The process is slow and tedious because too much insulin is dangerous, so our goal is to steadily reduce the build-up of sugar in her blood stream to her target ~ between 80 and 180.

This is not an unusual situation for Type 1 Diabetics, and Mary Morgan experiences unexplained, extreme spikes and drops in her blood sugar a few times each month. Her endocrinologist explains that in order for Type 1s to maintain a stable blood sugar, especially during their growing years, the medical community needs to understand about 60 aspects of how the natural pancreas functions, and right now, we understand two ~ blood sugar and insulin.

Mary Morgan knows that blood sugars under 80 or above 200 make her feel rotten. With excessively high spikes she may feel sick and exhausted for a few days. She also knows that there are immediate dangers associated with extreme low blood sugars. What she has not been told is that without control, she may be susceptible later in life to such horrors as loss of eyesight, amputation of limbs, early death, and more.

But we have so much to be thankful for on the diabetes front…most likely we will be able to regain control of her blood sugars today. However, if we are not able or if her condition worsens, her world-renowned pediatric endocrinologist will admit her to Children’s Healthcare Center of Atlanta where she will have the best care. The medical technology, information and understanding of the disease have progressed even since her diagnosis in 2010. In fact, the 90th anniversary of the first injection of insulin into a human being was just celebrated. It is overwhelming to think that if we had lived just one hundred years ago, Mary Morgan would not have survived diabetes.

Perhaps you can understand our passion for supporting JDRF. We believe that the key to Mary Morgan’s future health lies with JDRF. JDRF funds research for the prevention, treatment and the cure for Type 1 Diabetes. As a family, we made the commitment to pour our time and resources behind this organization. No matter what direction her disease takes in the future, we will not have regrets.

For JDRF, we chair the local walk, lead the Athens-area support group, and volunteer for advocacy groups. Because of your support, our team has raised over $40,000 in the past 4 years. Mary Morgan is proud to serve JDRF as a State Ambassador. She has met one-on-one with politicians, delivered speeches for groups of more than 400, and she’s currently making rounds along UGA Greek Row.

We invite you to join our crusade to help make a difference for Mary Morgan and the millions of other children and adults facing the challenges of this insidious disease every day.

There are three ways to help:

1. Join our team and walk with us on October 26th.

2. Make a contribution to JDRF through our team. The website is: http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/MaryMorgan

3. Forward this letter along to your friends and ask for their support. Every dollar makes a difference and brings us hope.

Every donation means so much. As Mary Morgan once said, ‘You know, sometimes people say they wish they could give more money, but every single donation makes me feel like a million bucks.’

With our gratitude,
Georgia and Curt
Parents of Harris and Mary Morgan