Local Mothers Fight Diabetes
By CASEY HICKS Staff WriterArticle Photos
WHEELING - All 7-year-old Nicole Wallace wants is the ability to eat sugary snacks like cookies or doughnuts with her classmates. But since she was diagnosed with diabetes on Nov. 14, 2007, her life has been on a rigid schedule for eating and testing her blood glucose levels several times each day.
Nicole could soon see her sugar-plum wishes come true thanks to an insulin pump that will be partially paid for by a group of local women who are working to raise awareness about diabetes while helping families pay for needed medical supplies.
The group - originally consisting of Melissa Adams, Marcie Brammer, Tammy Paree and Susan Harrison - will hold a spaghetti dinner for Nicole from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Church of Christ, 1310 National Road, Wheeling. Dine in and carry out meals will be available, and children 5 and under will only have to pay half price.
Dianna's Cake and Catering will cater the dinner, and Girl Scout Troop No. 8042 is helping with the event. Tickets will also be available for a Chinese raffle with prizes such as an autographed picture of Brad Paisley and tickets to the Washington Wild Things, Pittsburgh Pirates and even a filming of Dr. Phil.
This is the second benefit dinner the group has organized. The first took place in February for a boy named Sam Marshall, Adams said.
That spaghetti dinner was organized after Adams and Paree found out that their friend Kate Marshall wanted to get an insulin pump for her 10-year-old son, who had been suffering migraines as a complication of his diabetes. The family's insurance would only cover half the cost of the $6,000 pump, so the friends decided to hold a benefit to help.
Held Feb. 8, the dinner raised nearly $7,000, more than enough to cover Sam's expenses. That money was placed in a trust fund, and Sam should receive his pump in August.
"I thought it was pretty cool. We got a lot of guests," Sam Marshall said. "We had to go and get spaghetti two times because we ran out."
The success of the first benefit made the group want to hold another in the fall, but one day when Adams stopped by Steenrod Elementary School, the secretary told her that a girl in second grade had diabetes. Nicole's family has bought an insulin pump and monitor for her, but their insurance co-pay will amount to $2,000 once they receive the bill.
The committee, including Kate Marshall, decided to hold the upcoming spaghetti dinner in Nicole's honor. Her pump will be paid for using money already in the trust fund, and the proceeds of this benefit will also go into the fund to continue helping children of the Upper Ohio Valley who suffer from diabetes.
Nicole's mother, Debbie Wallace, said that she's joined the committee and will help organize future benefits because there are so few local resources for parents of children with diabetes. The mothers hope they can hold more fundraisers and an awareness walk to offset medical expenses and to let families know they're not alone. For now, she's grateful for any support.
"My daughter's school has a store, and one of her classmates had 50 cents as change. He came up to her and said, 'I want you to have your insulin pump. Here's 50 cents,'" Wallace said. "That goes to show what kind of parents that little boy has. People around here will give the last bit of money they have to help others."
For more information, call Tammy Paree at 304-242-2219 or Kate Marshall at 304-218-8373.
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Melissadams
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04-30-09 2:23 PM
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I wanted to say thank you to the people of Wheeling. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful communtiy. Melissa Adams
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bbmcfarland
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04-20-09 10:54 AM
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Kudos to these moms for making it happen!
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wonderwhy
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04-20-09 6:59 AM
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justme- contact the joslyn clinic in Boston. If you get your family dr to take the sample of any siblings, the clinic will run the test for the genetics for free (they have in the past) with the proper channels, you may be able to have this done for about 50 dollars. the joslyn clinic is one of the leaders in research.
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wonderwhy
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04-20-09 6:06 AM
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Ellis- you are wrong so many times in your posts. first, you know nothing about the diesease, secondly Obama,just opened the way for research thru stem cell research. wow, you are wrong wrong wrong. and alot of folks Know that the big drug companies, make millions off diabetics a year. When a cure is found, watch the eli lilley and bechtel dixon stock plumment. you are way off on this one ellis! without insurace, the drugs to keep a juvenile diabetic alive and well can cost 800 a month.meds and syinges that is basic care. with insurance, 200 in co-pay. so while your doing your research, do some that is legitimate.
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wonderwhy
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04-20-09 5:59 AM
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Good Luck to the Mothers for their efforts, and most importantly, to the child that has this disease. always keep them in your prayers, always stay on the side of stem cell research since it may hold a cure, keep this in your representatives issue in congress, and follow the research. Juvenine Diabetes Foundation provides money for research. when donating consider them. Always remember, Control your diabetes, so it doesn't control you. Good Luck!
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wonderwhy
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04-20-09 5:55 AM
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type 1 diabetes, (the kind that requires insulin injections) adult or juvenile, is caused by a combination of two recessive genes, getting one from each parent. DR3 and DR4. after the genetic set up, then an attack on the pancreas occurs. this can happen thru a virus, illness, trauma, of many types, etc. at times no situation is identified. a child can have the flu or chicken pox, causes the insult to the pancreas. at that time the pancreas stops producing inulin, hence the injections.diabetes care has made great strides in the past 10 years, and pumps are good for some, but they are combersome for a child. the only alternative to tight control (which is needed to avoid long term complications) is strict diet adn multiple injections. however, exercise can help regulate the highs and lows of the blood sugars. there is an increase of type 2 diabetes in children, due to over weight and lack of exercise. however, this is not the type that is being addressed in this article.
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justme
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04-19-09 11:31 PM
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p.s. Any child diagnosed with diabetes is always type 1 which is why it is called juvenile diabetes. oh yes, and i see my oldest child texting all day long (yeah right) because he is learning, running and playing. we don't even own a video game console. i am worried he will get diabetes because of family medical history.
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justme
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04-19-09 11:28 PM
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I applaud these mothers. They are doing a wonderful thing helping these children get insulin pumps. I am an insulin pump user and I can tell you between the insulin and supplies the costs are outrageous. For 2 months of supplies the cost from the supply company I use is $1500-$2000 then for one month of insulin it is $300.00 for 3 vials. These mothers are not joking when they say pumps cost $6,000.00 and up depending on the pump prescribed. My pump and tight control helped me have a healthy daughter. I have begged different Drs. to perform tests on my oldest child and have been told they need to be almost comatose before they can do tests that need to be done. So don't say that suing drs for misdiagnosis is wrong. Genetics play a big part of being a diabetic not just being lazy and obese.
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Melvin
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04-19-09 9:31 PM
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A comment was posted earlier: "The article does not mention what type this child had." It says under the photo: "...for type 1 (juvenile) diabetes...".
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EllisWyatt
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04-19-09 7:48 PM
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I feel badly for children such as the ones in this article. Unfortunately for people with diabetes, Obama and his trial lawyer cronies are making it more and more difficult to discover cures for diseases such as diabetes. Don't believe me? Well, believe the numerous lawsuits against drug manufacturers. Believe the Obama rant against drug companies. Believe the Democrat party demands that drug companies "negotiate" prices with the government. If you tell someone to produce or invent something, but that they will not profit from their product or invention, what is their motivation for working? NONE! By suing drug companies and placing ridiculous demands on them, the Democrats have done far more damage to humanity than most people know.
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EllisWyatt
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04-19-09 7:44 PM
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I never attacked this child. In my post, did I ever once mention this child's name or insult them? Please show me where I did this. I thought that this article provided a good opportunity to have a discussion about Type 2 diabetes. The article does not mention what type this child had. So, without further ado, here is a quote from an article: "According to a recent study, approximately 2 million American children with ages ranging from 12 to 19 years have pre-diabetes condition, which is directly linked to obesity and inactivity. This condition makes them vulnerable to diabetes and to cardiovascular problems."
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think4urself
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04-19-09 7:29 PM
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I think you hit the nail on the head there WJU2001, sounds exactly like him to me. Tolerate no one, put everyone down that doesn't meet your warped expectations of perfection all while being one of the biggest hypocrites around. With him, everything even the smallest detail is political and of course it's all Obama, the law or lawyers and the liberal's fault! All you have to do is look at any of this other posts on here, they are always to blame. He can't even let a positive article such as this one escape unscathed.
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WJU2001
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04-19-09 5:02 PM
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An EllisRacist-style list of what causes diabetes and obesity: Motown music hamsters Maytag dishwashers bass guitars homework Dodge Neons soldering irons The Simpsons African-Americans vitamin D Seriously though, how are internet message boards any better than texting? Look at how much time EllisHypocrite spends in front of a keyboard making supercilious comments about every single published article! Maybe if we get the kids started spewing anonymous hatred about everyone and anyone different than themselves we'd see a better world free from the horrors of obesity and diabetes. Then again, part of me is wondering if Ellis is only trolling for responses exactly like mine. If this is the case, then job well done E. One might even say "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" :)
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think4urself
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04-19-09 4:41 PM
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By the way, this is a beautiful article on how people are willing to help and even give of themselves, money and time to help someone they may or may not know. I won't let Ellis's condesending reply to the article ruin the wonderful message delivered here and I hope others can do the same.
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think4urself
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04-19-09 4:38 PM
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Ellis this is not the case with Type I diabetes, it has nothing to do with level of activy it is all genetic. Why don't you try doing some research before running your mouth about an innocent 7 year old child? I've researched this disease, even done a research paper this exact type of diabetes for my Anatomy & Physiology class 2 years ago in college. You make it sound like this little girl and the 10 yr old boy discussed in the article just sat around on their butts all day playing video games. These children have a disease that is though no fault of their own. As they say, pick on someone your own size instead of bullying children!
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EllisWyatt
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04-19-09 4:23 PM
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Diabetes is becoming more common in our youth because they spend too much time playing video games or text messaging. The trial lawyers have created a self-sustaining market. First, they sued cities and towns over the dangers at the local playgrounds, which forced the local governments to remove monkey bars, merry go rounds, slides and spring based animal rides. Next, they sued manufacturers of sporting goods for injuries. THEN, they sue doctors for failing to properly diagnose and/or treat diabetes in kids. Get your kids outside. Let them roll in the dirt, get in fights, play sports, hike, go bike riding, get cut, bruised, dinged and scraped. They will be healthier kids for it. Text messaging has created an overweight, self-centered and illiterate generation in the US. This has to be one of the worst inventions ever.
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