by Chase Urban

Hello everyone! Like everyone else with type 1 diabetes (T1D), I have had a life changing experience. Mine was two years and 9 months ago at the age of 8. I remember my regular doctor coming in and saying I had type 2 diabetes and then she sent me to Lucile Packard at Stanford. The next thing I remember was hearing that I had type 1 diabetes, which made me so confused. I learned a lot that day. You see, I was lucky. My parents caught the symptoms early and I didn’t have to go into the hospital. We stayed with the doctor and the educator for 4 hours and then we were able to go home. I learned that I would have to use needles for injections, measure my food and count carbs, that sometimes I would have to sit out at basketball and soccer games, and that I would have to take precautions with nearly everything I did. I also realized that Halloween was 5 days later and was going to be a totally different holiday for me. That made me really mad. When we left that day, I was starving. My parents took me to a restaurant and I ordered a hamburger, but only the patty with some bacon (of course I added bacon). I was too scared of a shot to eat anything else. Early the next morning, my mom and I were watching TV when the JDRF Walk came on the screen in San Francisco. We were shocked! I remember at that very moment telling my mom that we should do it next year and she agreed. That moment was one of the most important moments in my life.

The first year, I thought we would be lucky if we raised $2,000. My team raised $14,000 and had 66 walkers. We were amazed. We felt so much support from our community, family, and friends. The second year, Kevin O’Scanlon (JDRF Walk Manager) thought we should set our goal at $25,000. Even though we thought he was crazy, we did it. We thought it would be amazing if we raised as much as we had the year before. We raised $28,000 and had 72 walkers. To think that my diagnosis has led me here today, to the #1 team at the San Francisco walk in 2014, the person I am today, and the $42,000 my team has raised to make a difference. It makes me very happy.

I am known for being a positive person, so it’s important that I stop for a moment and tell you what I don’t like about T1D. I don’t like that sometimes my blood sugar is too low and it causes me to be pulled out of a basketball game, recess, PE, or something fun I’m doing with my friends. I hate it when I want to eat and I realize my blood sugar is really high and I have to wait a long time to eat in order to get my blood sugar down. I am a growing boy and when I am hungry, I need to eat NOW! I wish I could drink juice for breakfast. I wish I didn’t have to lug a bag around everywhere I go. I wish kids would quit commenting when I use my phone at school to text my mom my blood sugar. I wish my classmates would stop being jealous of my skittles, my cell phone, and the attention I get from the teacher. I would happily give up all those things to not have T1D. Plus, my classmates just don’t believe me that I don’t even taste the skittles! How many of you with T1D actually taste the sugar you are shoving down your throat to bring up your BG and stop shaking? These are some of the reasons I do the JDRF One Walk.

I want a world without T1D. I want it for you, for me, for my family and for the millions of people around the world affected by it. I know all of you want that too. This year at the Walk, I will look forward to celebrating my 3^rd Dia-Birthday (it’s the day after the Walk this year) and walking with my friends, who support my mission.

Please sign up for JDRF One Walk and get the largest team you can! You won’t believe how much fun it is to do this with your team. People LOVE this Walk. They WANT to join in and they WANT to do it with you and support you.

I get asked about my team and the Walk all the time. Ask people to donate to your team. Ask your neighbors, co-workers, ex-co-workers, family, friends, people you do business with, people at your school, old college buddies, and your uncle’s cousin’s best friend’s sister’s aunt once removed. Ask everyone you can think of. Write them letters, send them emails, call them, post about the walk on Facebook, send people videos, and set up a cool Team Walk Page. It really doesn’t take that much time. Our first year, we did it 3 weeks before the walk. I don’t recommend that, but it can be done. I personally challenge you to set a high goal for your team. Higher than last year and higher than you think you can earn. New teams, please do the same. You won’t believe how generous people are. My team goal this year is $35,000. I dare you to beat me and I would be so excited if you did.

Lastly, I want you to know that getting T1D and then doing this Walk has really shaped me as a person. This Walk is so important to me. It is such a big part of my life. It is something I look forward to every year because it is so incredible. It is incredible that people come together to raise over $300,000, just at the San Francisco Walk, for this cause. It is just amazing to me. I have gained so much confidence in T1D and in life from getting this disease. I can think of myself before I had T1D and what I see today is a person more willing to push himself to the limits. Push yourselves to the limits by forming a team and raising more money than you ever thought imaginable. Enjoy the journey. Thank you.