Hank Polley is walking with Hank's Heroes on September 17, 2005 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Hello! Our family is taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure D

iabetes. The name of our walk team is "Hank's Heroes", in honor of our brave 4 year old son, Hank, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on March 23rd, 2005. That's him in the photos, caring for his diabetic bear, Rufus, who was given to him by JDRF when he was diagnosed. We are asking our family and friends to help us cure diabetes by sponsoring us in the JDRF Walk.

Diabetes is a daily part of our lives; I have had Type 1 diabetes for 30 years and Hank has had it for 4 months. I manage my diabetes with an insulin pump; Hank takes 4-5 injections a day. We both test our blood sugars with finger pricks more than 4 times a day. It is heartbreaking to have to chase Hank down for each injection, while he screams that he hates me and hates having diabetes. When we were told him this walk was to raise money to find a cure, he was very excited about the idea that diabetes could be cured; the next day he came to Tony with his wagon and said he was ready to go find the cure. So they went off in the wagon, but poor Hank came home without his cure.

Much of federal funding for diabetes goes to research on Type 2 (adult) diabetes, and the Type 1 research is focused on improving treatment and dealing with complications. So a group of parents took matters into their own hands and formed theJDRF to raise money to support research specifically to cure Type 1 diabetes. The JDRF board that decides which research studies to fund includes not only doctors, but parents of children with diabetes. They have a low overhead and 80% of their budget goes to support research. JDRF has spent more on diabetes research than any other charitable organization¿more than $800 million since 1970. In addition, JDRF advocacy has spurred government, especially the National Institutes of Health, to increase its investment in type 1 diabetes research to unprecedented levels.

If you choose to help us cure diabetes, you can make your tax-deductible donation by credit card by clicking on the "Donate to this Walker" button at the top of the page.

If you prefer to write a check, contact me at polleyba@pobox.com and give you our address to send your check payable toJDRF.

Thank you so much for your support!!!




Team Goal: $600.00

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