Diabetic Fourth-Grader Skates for the Cure

Singer, ice skater, dog lover, diabetic — all these words describe fourth-grader Raina Foley, but she’s raised more than $20,000 to find a cure for one of them.

Doctors diagnosed Raina with insulin-dependant diabetes, also known as Type I or juvenile diabetes, when she was 4 years old. Her parents went to her pediatrician when she couldn’t stop drinking apple juice, a symptom her body wasn’t absorbing nutrients, and her doctor immediately sent Raina to St. Louis Children’s Hospital after checking her blood sugar.

"It was like being hit by a train," said Raina’s dad, Brendan.

His wife, Kathleen, agrees. "We didn’t know anything," she adds.

Now, Raina, who lives in Kirkwood, is managing her life-changing illness and living the full life of a typical fourth-grader.

This month, she performed in four sold-out performances of . Proceeds from the show, about $500, went directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, dedicated to finding a cure for diabetes.

“She was so cute, it was fun to watch,” said Marie Davis, the foundation’s executive director.

Raina and her family also hold an annual summer car wash (Raina admits to washing dogs that come along as well,) and walk in the foundation’s annual Walk for the Cure fundraiser. In total, the family raises about $5,000 for diabetes research each year.

"They should have a cure by now," Kathleen said to Raina, only half-joking.

Living with Diabetes

Even at the young age of 9, Raina is proud she can prick her own finger to test her blood sugar levels and calculate the amount of carbohydrates in her food so she can program her pump, which dispenses insulin automatically.

“I think of it as my pancreas went on vacation for a very long time,” Raina says to describe her diabetes to her classmates at Kirkwood’s . The pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that allows nutrients to enter the body’s cells.

“When everyone eats, their pancreas gives them insulin for energy,” she said. “Mine unfortunately stopped working, so I have the pump as an outside pancreas so I still have energy.”

If Raina doesn’t get enough insulin, she said she gets bad headaches. When she gets too much, she feels shaky and weak. In extreme cases, diabetics can experience amputation of the limbs, seizures and even death.

“I don’t like it. It does not feel good,” she said.

Raina is using her four years of experience with diabetes to help her best friend, who was just diagnosed last year. The two go to the nurse after lunch together, and her friend used to hug a stuffed dog to help her brave the pain.

When her friend forgot her dog, Raina tried to remind her, but she’d found the courage to face the pain alone.

“She was like, ‘I don’t need this dog!’” Raina said proudly.

Flowers on Ice

When she’s not hanging with friends, Raina likes to sing, practice taekwondo and ice skate.

In the Nutcracker on Ice, Raina played a flower in the bouquet the Sugar Plum Fairy gives Clara, the girl magically transported into the world of the nutcracker. Raina’s sister, Ella, was a rose in the bouquet, and her father was a guest at the dinner party in the first scene. Her mother sold nutcrackers to audience members, making the whole show a family affair.

"It looks beautiful when you are skating on the ice," Raina said. "You just have your own moment to express yourself."

Diabetes can make taekwondo, ice skating and other sports difficult, depleting the body’s stores of blood sugar and causing an excess of insulin. Kathleen and Brendan acknowledge Raina’s added difficulty but say they are learning to help her manage her health and her activities.

"Yeah, we are concerned, but we want to enocourage her to be as active as possible," said Brendan.

"Anything she wants to do or pursue, we are behind her."