Breakthrough T1D Austin holds walk to raise awareness, funds for Type 1 diabetes

AUSTIN, Texas - November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and people from across Austin gathered for the Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes Walk.

Participants walked on Sunday to power more research, enable more advocacy, and fund more support for the millions of Americans living with Type 1 diabetes.

"Today is a day to celebrate our T1D champions to celebrate them and the challenges that they go through and to hope to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes," said Jenna Medford, director of Breakthrough T1D Austin.

Breakthrough T1D is the leading global Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. It was formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, but changed its name in June.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that can be diagnosed in both children and adults. Managing T1D requires ongoing, around-the-clock attention—often including overnight monitoring and adjustments.

"It is something that you develop, you can't control when you get it. You can develop it as a child. You can develop it as an adult. People typically think that it's developed when you're a child. But now 50% of diagnoses are when you're an adult," said Medford.

A Type 1 diabetic is dependent on insulin, whether it’s an injection or an insulin pump.

Despite following a strict management plan, people with Type 1 diabetes can still experience dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which, if left unchecked, can lead to serious complications or even be life-threatening in severe cases.

"Somebody that lives with type one diabetes has to make many more decisions throughout the day. It is something that you're constantly you know; you leave the house. You have to constantly be prepared with low snacks. You're waking up throughout the night to make sure that you're not having low blood sugar," said Medford.

MORE HEALTH NEWS

• FDA wants to pull decongestant found in many cold, allergy medicines
• Caregiver Nation initiative to raise awareness, support for caregivers
• Fluoride: What is it and why is it added to our drinking water?

Dillon Womack is one of those people. She was diagnosed with diabetes at 32 and says it turned her whole world upside down.

"hat was like a whirlwind of trying to figure out what it was. I had never even heard of anything like that. And I think the hardest part with it was I don't like any attention or anything on me. And it was like this, this diagnosis that I needed to draw attention to in order to have growth with," said Womack.

But she's grateful she has the tools to manage it and hopes events like these are a step closer to finding a cure.

"I think we wanted to bring our family together and just really raise awareness and, you know, a chance to show people what it's all about and hopefully work towards a cure," said Womack.

Fundraising continues through the month of November. So far, Breakthrough T1D has raised over $190,000.

You can find more information here.