On February 7, 2022, I was feeling very sick. My mom took me to a local ER for fluids when they discovered I had COVID-19 and my blood sugar was over 700. I was taken by ARCH Air to St. John's Children's Hospital and I was in DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and learned my new day to day life with Type 1 Diabetes. 

At first, the needles scared me, but now they are just a part of my life. I know they can keep me healthy. I wear a Dexcom to read my blood sugar and I just started wearing an Omnipod pump. Luckily, I don't have to get finger poked or get shots as much anymore. 

I am so excited to be a JDRF Gala Ambassador so I can share my story with others and hopefully raise money to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

I’m fundraising for JDRF because I believe in their vision of a world without type 1 diabetes (T1D). What a wonderful world that would be!

With T1D, a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone essential to turning food into energy. The daily life of someone with T1D brings a multitude of challenges, including insulin injections  that need to be carefully balanced with eating and activity, disruptive glucose monitoring, sleepless nights—and   wishing for a tomorrow where this struggle doesn’t exist.

Living with T1D means there are no days off and there is no cure. But there is hope.

Your generosity will help JDRF fund life-changing breakthroughs to remove the incredible daily burden of this disease—until it no longer exists.

Please support my fundraiser by making a donation today.

Thank you!

Mila Heldebrandt