Team Ashcat

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, in August of 2012, our daughter Ashley turned nine years old. One week after her birthday she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. With three days to go before the start of Fourth Grade, we found ourselves admitted to Jeff Gordan Children's Hospital in Concord, NC where Terri and I were handed a stack of books about diabetes and Ashley was confronted with her worst nightmare...needles. At the end of the first day of coutless finger pricks and insulin shots to get her blood sugar under control, Ashley sat in her hospital bed, looked at us and asked "When will all of this be over?". I believe the hardest thing that I have ever had to do was to tell her that she would be doing this for the rest of her life. She buried her face in her pillow and cried.

Everyone that knows Ashley, knows that she is a very bright and independent girl. Just like everything else she does, she has faced this head on. She knows she can't eat a lot of the things she used to anymore without checking the carbs and sugars to see how much if any that she is allowed to have. She checks her blood sugar and gives herself her insulin injections a minimum of four times a day without complaint even though the discomfort is evident in her face. She is truly an inspiration to all.

Living with type 1 diabetes changes your life forever making what used to be simple day-to-day routines difficult. I have been asked if Ashley will eventually "grow out of it". The answer is No, this is a life threatening disease that will never go away....until they find a cure. For that reason we will be participating in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes at the Intimidators Stadium in Kannapolis on April 20th, 2013. JDRF is our best hope for finding a cure. It funds more type 1 diabetes research than any other charity worldwide and it is making progress towards better treatment and finding a cure. 

Please consider joining us on Walk day or donating to Ashley's team buy clicking on one of the links on this page.  With your help we can make a difference...for Ashley and kids like her everywhere.

Thank you for your support, and we?ll see you on Walk day!