Advertisement
It's that time of day again for Brandi Burd and her 5-year-old son Jeremy.
In order to keep his Type 1 diabetes in check, Brandi checks his blood sugar eight times a day.
"The main reason we do all that is so we don't have heart disease, amputations, strokes," she said.
Join the Suppport Group
If you're interested in joining the Type 1 Diabetes support group, call Brandi Burd at (785) 286-0733 or Angela Kenney at (785) 783-7133.
A similiar routine can be said for Angela Kenney and her 5-year-old son Kyle.
He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes over a year ago.
"He went from being my little baby to having to really, be really grown up more than he should have to be," Kenney said.
It may sound like a temporary diet, but watching what they eat and how much exercise they get will never end for Kyle or Jeremy.
There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes, and they'll never out grow it.
"It's heartbreaking to know they're not like every other child," said Burd. "They run, they look healthy but when you look in their pocket there's an [insulin] pump."
"It's just very, very complicated," said Kenney. "There's so much that plays into it and no matter how hard we try to monitor it, there's just so many things out of our control."
Dealing with this challenge is tough.
That's why Brandi and Angela are working to start a Type 1 diabetes support group.
A local place where parents and children can encourage one another and realize they're not alone.
Their mission is to keep the support group going until the kids are grown.
"It's kind of your life-long goal diabetes is," said Burd. "It's what you're here for, for your child."
"The kids are the real heroes in all this," Kenney said.
More like this
- Childhood obesity linked to increase in Type 2 diabetes in children November 20, 2006
- Menu planning, exercise keys to help control diabetes March 8, 2006
- A not-so-fond farewell to an eyesore September 30, 2008
- Lawmakers consider funeral picketing bill March 8, 2007
- Nation’s diabetes epidemic has serious consequences for Kansas February 1, 2010

Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.