Last week I recieved a touching email from a friend who is taking on the biggest initiative I have ever known someone to do who does not have diabetes. Thank you Steph for taking on this challenge and raising money for diabetes research, including the JDRF. If this story touches you, feel free to donate to Steph’s cause at: http://rchfoundation.com.au/stephanie_tsang

Steph’s email read something like this:

Type 3 diabetes.  Have you heard of it?  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term it’s a term used for anyone who has a loved one who has Type 1 diabetes.

And I have a lot of loved ones with Type 1!  Therefore, I have type 3.

I’m writing because I’ve signed up to be part of a team of people with type 3, who are trying to understand and experience what it’s like to have Type 1.  It’s all part of The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Mind over Matter month – challenging and committing yourself for the month of June to do something to change your life in a positive way.

A friend and former teammate of Matt’s (Steph’s husband, who also has type 1 diabetes), came up with this brilliant idea of “Living like a Type 1”, which is a challenge to check your blood glucose at least 4 times/day for the month of June to experience part of the daily routine of what someone with Type 1 must do.

As a Type 3, we often think we know what it must be like to have Type 1 because we live through it everyday with our loved one.  But actually, we’re just witnessing what it’s like.  We aren’t actually experiencing what it’s like.  Which is why this challenge appeals to me.  It asks me to actually DO something that someone with Type 1 does on a daily basis.  I’m experiencing, not witnessing.

The funds we raise for Mind Over Matter month will go towards Type 1 clinical research, the training of more pediatric endos, and the opening of more endo clinics to be able to see more patients and help them with their diabetes management.

The challenge itself is a way for me to demonstrate my love and support for my husband and friends who are living with Type 1, and to gain a better understanding of what they go through daily.

Any little bit counts and is greatly appreciated!!