Hello, my name is Jamie. I am a wife and mother of 4 children. On November 11th, 2022 , the trajectory of our lives changed when our 10 year old daughter (now 11), Maylee, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She was admitted to the CHOP ICU with a blood sugar of 864mg. Prior to her diagnosis, we had no idea just how much Type 1 Diabetes can change the dynamic of how someone lives. It is a constant rollercoaster of Highs and Lows, quite literally. On average a Type 1 Diabetic will make 180 decisions a day to manage their T1D. Everything in some way can impact blood sugar levels, from food, activities, hormones, illness, weather, etc. You name it and it likely impacts blood sugar.

As a child, this diagnosis can be so challenging. One day you are living your life carefree, the next you are counting carbs, checking blood sugar levels numerous times per day, getting poked and prodded, treating highs and lows and even just feeling crummy from the fluctuations in blood sugar. For Maylee, this all happened just as she is preparing to step into her middle school years. She now has to look at every play date, birthday party and sleepover with her friends through a different lens. She has to consider the impacts that her blood sugar can have on her education. She has to battle this when playing sports and when trying to sleep. No matter what she does, T1D is there.

Maylee has recently shown a lot of interest in getting a Diabetic Alert Dog. In many ways, she is looking for a companion to comfort her, in other ways she is seeking an added sense of security in managing her Type 1 Diabetes. Technology has come so far in regards to managing T1D, but the reality is, the devices do run approximately 15 minutes behind real time. This means that you sometimes are not aware of a dangerous situation until you are already well into it. A DAD (diabetes alert dog) works in real time. Having a DAD will mean that Maylee will be alerted approximately 90% of the time for her lows (hypoglycemic) and highs (hyperglycemic), which is well before her devices can alert her and the situation becomes far more dangerous.

As Maylee’s mom, I also look to the future a lot. I think about how scary it will be when she someday goes off to live on her own and I am no longer right there to run and help when her alarms go off.I worry about so many aspects of her life, as moms tend to do. The thought of getting her familiar with having a DAD, truly brings me a sense of comfort as well. By the time she reaches that stage in her life, working with a DAD will be a normal part of how she lives. She will never have to be alone!

With that, we are reaching out in hopes that we can help make this dream of hers a reality. We are hoping that we can increase the quality of her life, by reducing her risk of extreme hypo and hyperglycemic events. We believe that this will alleviate much of the anxiety that comes with living with T1D and that Maylee will benefit in more ways than one if we can bring this to fruition.

We thank each and every one of you for your time and the support you have given our little warrior! We will be happy to update on our facebook page “Diary of a T1D Mom”, as our journey plays out. The first step is to raise enough funds to begin the training process, which takes approximately 12 months. We know that while the wait will be hard, it will be well worth every ounce of effort given!