by Mandy Ochoa Dansby
Kids today are enamored of seemingly everything high-tech, and Sarah Beth Guidry is no exception. Her mom, Jamie Farmer, jokes that the only part of her 9- year-old daughter’s insulin pump that shows on the outside “looks like a pager.” That’s enough to help her child not feel strange or slowed down.
Sarah Beth was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, at age 4, after experiencing “unquenchable thirst, frequent urination, an increased appetite, and being drowsy — all the classic symptoms,” said Farmer. Other symptoms include rapid weight loss for no reason, a fruity odor on the breath, heavy or labored breathing, and stupor or unconsciousness.
Sarah Beth with mom and
advocate, Jamie Farmer.
Sarah Beth wasn’t home that recent afternoon to speak for herself because she was off at dance class. She takes jazz and is on a competition hip-hop team. She doesn’t let the condition slow her down, except for pausing several times a day to prick her finger and check her blood sugar levels with a glucose-measuring meter.
“She’s very in tune with her body,” her mother said, explaining, “She’ll wake up in the middle of the night and come downstairs and tell us her blood sugar is low. We’ll check it, and sure enough, it is. Then she’ll have a midnight snack and go back to bed.”
Farmer keeps her family grounded in the present and optimistic about the future, despite knowing the facts about juvenile diabetes. MedlinePlus defines juvenile diabetes as a lifelong disease that occurs when the pancreas produces too little insulin to regulate blood sugar levels appropriately. Without adequate insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of going into the cells. The body is unable to use this glucose for energy despite high levels in the bloodstream, leading to increased hunger.
According to JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, juvenile diabetes is one of the most costly, chronic childhood diseases. Insulin allows a person to stay alive, but it does not cure diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack, and stroke.
Each year, approximately 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, more than 13,000 of those children. More than one million Americans have the condition.
Farmer doesn’t ignore those facts. She takes into account that the statistics are averages that include people whose diabetes goes long undiagnosed, people who don’t manage their condition and people who are otherwise in poor health. They also were established before many of today’s advances in managing diabetes. Likewise, research is drawing closer to a cure, and innovations like the islet transplant are virtually eliminating insulin-dependence.
“If there was a time to have it, now is the time,” Farmer said. “We’re so close to finding a cure.”
Dr. Michael Schreck of Foot and Ankle of West Georgia PC concurs with Farmer’s optimism. Because foot care is such an essential part of diabetes management, Schreck and his partners see plenty of diabetic patients, those with Type 2 as well as juvenile diabetes. The condition itself is usually treated by a primary doctor or endocrinologist, such as Endocrine Consultants PC, where Sarah Beth is treated.
“We’re getting closer to a cure. A lot of research is going on,” Schreck said, adding that patients’ tolerance for islet cell transplants is improving. Schreck is active in the local JDRF chapter, which works to support research as well as families affected by juvenile diabetes. The local chapter is holding a walk October 14 to help fund that research.
While diabetes is a “lifetime disease having to be daily managed,” Schreck emphasizes that children with the disease “still can go do anything any other child does.”
Sarah Beth Guidry’s St. Luke schoolmates
teamed up to join the walk.
The Columbus JDRF group, which includes about 30 members, strives to ensure children and families get to enjoy quarterly activities for the whole family, such as bowling or a recent event at Butt’s Mill Farm, Farmer said. Meetings are at noon on the second Wednesday of each month at the Ronald McDonald House.
The walk is a big event in which the public, families, people with juvenile diabetes and athletes can walk or run. Last year, Sarah Beth’s third-grade class at St. Luke School formed a team for the walk, and her fourthgrade class will continue the tradition. Older sister Marianna said her Beta Club at St. Luke also is going to form a team. Close to 1,000 walkers are expected, and the group hopes to raise about $130,000 locally.
The disease really does affect the whole family, Farmer said. Because of Sarah Beth’s dietary restrictions, the whole family eats healthier. She said her daughter’s doctors don’t insist on total abstinence from sweets. For example, she wouldn’t send Sarah Beth to a birthday party and forbid her to eat a piece of birthday cake.
Farmer and Schreck agree it’s easier getting a child into the diabetes management routine than trying to get an adult with Type 2 diabetes to change his or her eating and exercise habits.
“I think with her being diagnosed at 4, it was a lot less of a life change,” Farmer said of Sarah Beth. “She doesn’t remember what life was like before diabetes. She doesn’t remember eating differently.” “It’s much easier to educate a young child in starting off life correctly than teaching an ‘old dog new tricks,’” agrees Schreck.
One disturbing trend is that Type 2 diabetes, typically thought of as adult-onset diabetes, is on the increase among children. Juvenile diabetes is believed to be a genetic anomaly, and the exact cause is not known, but Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to lifestyle issues such as obesity, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle.
One local woman, Tracy St. John, owner and head coach at JumpBunch Sports and Fitness, is on a mission to change that. She says, “Childhood obesity has doubled over the last two decades. Approximately 1 in 3 children is overweight or at risk to be.”
Along with Type 2 diabetes, overweight children are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, respiratory problems, restless or disordered sleep, tendency to mature early, liver and gallbladder disease, depression and high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Like Schreck, St. John blames the increase of obesity and Type 2 diabetes on food and exercise choices.
“Today’s lifestyle is not helping: computer games, endless TV channels, fat-laden foods, diminishing school PE programs, limited safe and enjoyable opportunities to be active,” said St. John, who has a master‘s degree in health, PE and recreation and is a sports psychology consultant.
She continues, “It’s clear what should be done. The National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) is increasing the amount of physical activity recommended for 5 to12 year olds. Kids should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, and sedentary periods should not exceed two hours at a time.”
Hmm. If that doesn’t sound like many of our households, that’s St. John’s point exactly. Along with her fun exercise program, which she takes “on-site” wherever requested, she offers pointers for all parents to use for their children. The simple summation of her message is, “Feed them better and move them more!”
Along with helping prevent Type 2 diabetes, exercise benefits many of her students who already have diabetes. She says parents are so convinced of the benefits of exercise to their diabetic children that they adjust their eating and insulin schedules to accommodate the workouts.
Until there’s a cure, there’s management and optimism.
Farmer says of her family’s experience, “Everything that’s happened since Sarah Beth was diagnosed has been positive.”
Get Moving
Along with traditional sports and classes, think about your daily activities. That’s where you’ll find the most time to fit in fitness. Get creative!
- Put kids on the clock! Time them with a stopwatch doing anything — kids love to challenge themselves, over and over! How fast can you run a lap around the yard?
- Make anything a relay! Sprint to get the mail, one piece at a time.
- Work in “workout” breaks! Three minutes of kid’s choice exercise for every 15 minutes of homework, piano practice, whatever...
- Get GOOD at something! Have your child choose a sport/game and practice one aspect of it every day for a week. Next week, new sport!
- Fitness flash cards! You and your child make up cards (lots!) that each list a different exercise or activity. Take turns picking a few cards daily and do the exercises together.
- Chores! Wash the car, mow the grass, rake the leaves, clean the house, walk the dog, take out the trash ... just put on tennis shoes and pick up the pace! • Set goals! I will be able to ________ by _________. Help your child fill in the blanks: “I will be able to do 15 pushups by November 1.” Work daily to reach the goal, and REWARD your child for attaining it!
Provided by Tracy St. John at JumpBunch
Walk For a Diabetes Cure
- What: JDRF 3.1-mile walk to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research
- When: 9 a.m. Oct. 14, check-in: 8:30 a.m.
- Where: Rotary Park
- Info: For more information on the walk or the local JDRF chapter, call 706-660-0076, or go to www.jdrf.org. You may call Jamie Farmer of JDRF at 706-317-2100.
