Tyler Fischer-Colbrie ended up in the Pediatric ICU as we were one of many families who had no family history and who didn’t know the warning signs of diabetes. Knowing that excess thirst, drinking lots of fluids and going to the bathroom a lot are some of the signs of diabetes can save a life. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease with no known cause that affects as many as 1 in 300 school children. While it can strike at any age, with nearly half being adults, the fastest growing age group are children ages zero to 5.
Shortly thereafter we learned about JDRF and discovered that JDRF is the leader in diabetes research; it offers the best opportunity to help find a cure.
Fisher-Colbrie at the JDRF Hope Gala
It is a world-class organization, with over 80 cents on the dollar going to research and education about research.
Our family made a pact that we, as a family, would do whatever was necessary to raise funds to help find a cure while Tyler did what he could to constantly monitor his blood sugar levels ( requiring a drop of blood 7 to 10 times per day to be placed on a test strip and read in a glucose monitoring device) and to stay in shape (swimming and water polo). The objectives are to take advantage of a cure when it is found, while staving off the insidious complications of diabetes.
The family quickly became involved with JDRF, including co-founding the Silicon Valley Branch (Mark), running the Silicon Valley Walk (Lisa) and becoming Chapter President for the Greater Bay Area (Mark). This picture of me was taken at the Hope Gala in 2008. Tyler, now a college senior at UCSD, has given numerous talks for JDRF, was a full-time summer volunteer for JDRF, participated in Walks and in lobbying Congress, as have my other children, Matt and Megan.
The Fischer-Colbrie family is a JDRF family. JDRF is motivation for competing for the title of Ironman along with the titles of Branch Board President and Chapter President. This year I began as VP, Research Education an official new position of the Chapter Executive Board. More on this next time.
Follow this link to my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Janis Charity Challenge. The money goes to a great cause JDRF, with the ability to help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as potential others with autoimmune diseases.