Help Dorian Combat Type I Diabetes Complications

Dorian Herrera is my loving, generous, resilient 27 year old son. He is a brittle Type I Diabetic, meaning he experiences extreme blood glucose highs and lows that don’t respond to insulin as expected. This makes his blood sugars harder to manage.  He was diagnosed at only 11 months old at Elmendorf- Richardson Airforce and Army Hospital in Anchorage, AK while his father and I were stationed there.

This is Dorian and I after his diagnosis in 1994

Dorian’s Story

Dorian is  one of the youngest ever at diagnosis and that has presented many additional challenges over the course of his lifetime. 

Things got more financially challenging when he was dropped from his father’s health insurance as soon as he turned 18. This caught us by surprise and we had to wait 6 months for the open enrollment period on my husband’s (Dorian’s stepfather’s) insurance to allow us to add him to his healthcare plan. During that time (while struggling to get him insulin) we were told that he would have to go blind or lose a limb to diabetes in order to qualify for SSA disability. 

At age 26, Dorian was dropped from my husband’s plan. This meant several more months without insurance while working on obtaining it through his employer.  During this time he faced many challenges, including getting his insulin from Mexico as it was the most affordable way.

Now, Dorian is without health insurance once again and has been for months. Multiple diabetes complications have emerged, which he has been struggling to afford to pay out of pocket to treat.

He had a blister on his foot that became an ulcer  earlier this year.  It wouldn’t heal and led to him needing  a skin graft. At the same time, he was covid positive. The illness and having to stay off of his foot to promote healing caused him to be off of work for several months and his insurance dropped him. 

The skin graft did not heal and a test revealed that a blood vessel leading to his foot was blocked. Dorian underwent surgery to remove the blockage in June and his foot is still healing 6 months later. 

After further testing from his doctors, an EKG showed that an area of his heart is not receiving blood. 

Due to financial hardship, Dorian is now working two jobs but still has no health insurance. He needs an echocardiogram ASAP to see if a heart stent is the next step. He was also told an echocardiogram may provide the evidence for him to qualify for SSA disability now. 

Study lunch with fellow classmates 2019

Amidst his struggles, Dorian started working towards his LVN last year. He organized a study group and was concerned about everyone’s success.

His first major challenge occurred soon after starting his nursing program. He was hospitalized with pneumonia and diabetic keto acidosis. He missed a few weeks of school while being in intensive care and awaiting his doctor’s approval to return to school after his discharge. In order to make up for missed classes and clinicals, he became the first one to arrive and last to leave every night. He worked tirelessly to succeed and amazed his instructors with his hard work and determination. 

This is the two of us after Dorian was well enough to be released from the hospital. I’m thankful I was able to fly to San Antonio from Chicago and be by his side. I was afraid I would lose him. Looking back it looks like I aged ten years during that week. 

Dorian also has retinopathy. His vision worsened right before his second semester finals and he didn’t pass his exams. He could not see the circles on the scantrons clearly enough to fill them in properly. He is in the process of trying to return to school but will have to redo this semester. 

Dorian’s dream is to become a diabetes educator after obtaining his nursing degrees. He has volunteered for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation on multiple occasions over the years. He enjoys providing words of encouragement to newly diagnosed children and their families by speaking publicly at the fundraisers along with participating in walkathons. 

Dorian is a people person with a fun personality. He usually finds a way to solve his own problems and hardly ever asks for help. He has even gone without long acting insulin a few times to avoid asking for parental help. This breaks my heart because no one should go without insulin no matter what.

I am asking for help from friends, family, and community now because I have felt helpless and unable to help Dorian for months.  It seems as if he has a new health problem everyday and I’m afraid he could have a heart attack before his echocardiogram is done and the next steps are determined.

He has told me just lending an ear is enough, but I wish I could do more. I struggle with my own chronic health condition and often feel as if my husband has the weight of the world on his shoulders while I am not doing enough for our family. My husband would insist that’s not true but I still feel that way.  That being said, I would love to see Dorian’s health needs met and him back on track towards reaching his goals.

Dorian and I on a happier day

How  will funds be used?

• Echocardiogram (estimated at $3000)
• Blood thinner medication (estimated at $450 per month)
• Doctors visits (estimated at $200 per appointment)
• Ongoing Injections to treat diabetic retinopathy ($2000 per month)
• Stent surgery if determined to be the next step after the echocardiogram (estimated at $30,000)
• Dorian has various other health related costs (a glucose sensor in his arm needs to be replaced, this is estimated at $15,000, insulin, extensive dental work that needs to be done, unpaid medical bills for recent vein surgery in excess of $100,000) which are all related to his diabetes complications 
• If Dorian is blessed with any funds in excess of health costs they will go towards finishing his nursing program and paying off student loans

How can you help?

I understand that this has truly been a challenging year for everyone and that makes it even harder for me to ask for help. Please know that I am ever so grateful for your financial support and that every little bit will help. In addition to giving through this GoFundMe effort, you can also help us by sharing the link to your Facebook, Instagram, or other social media.

Thank You!

Please keep Dorian in your hearts and prayers.

Thank you for taking the time to read Dorian’s story. 

All efforts to help are greatly appreciated. 

Wishing you all the best,
Mary DuBois aka Dorian’s mom