Juvenile Diabetes Hits Home for Hopkinton Family

Have you ever thought what it would be like having a child who needs constant health monitoring? 

The Lussier's have been dealing with it for years. Meghan and Don's 9-year-old son Bode has Type 1 diabetes.

They decided to take matters in to their own hands though, and so has Bode.

For the second year, the Lussier's are part of a team competing in the Cohasset Triathlon; they are raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

Bode himself is taking part in a study to track his insulin levels throughout the day to help develop an "artificial pancreas" which is undergoing FDA testing and could help him and others with Type 1 diabetes in the future. 

"On a more personal level, this year has been a growing year for the Lussiers. We are starting to give Bode more independence towards managing his diabetes as well as taking on a new managing tool. Bode was chosen to be one of the 125 kids at the Joslin Center in Boston to partake in a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) study. After 8 months of talking about it, Bode decided mid-April to start the study. The CGM study will last for two years and will require Bode to wear another site in his skin 24/7. He now thinks he is a cyborg! The CGM has a computer chip in the site attached to his body that will allow us to see how his blood sugars are trending throughout the day," Meaghan Lussier wrote on a fundraising page for the Bode's Bunch triathlon team .

So far they are at 44 percent of their fundraising goal of $15,000 for JDRF and they are calling on all Hopkinton residents to help support the research so Bode and others can be less reliant on constant contact with nurses and other health care professionals.

To read more about Bode, juvenile diabetes or to donate to Bode's Bunch, visit their fundraising page.