Are We There Yet?: Help Find a Cure for Type One Diabetes

This column is brought to you by the department of shameless promotions.

But keep reading. It's for a good reason!

I have a little girl who has been living with type one diabetes for four years now. She wears two "gadgets" attached to her body, deals with blood sugar highs and lows, and never really feels "normal." It's a lot for anyone to deal with, much less a sweet 8-year-old. We are so very close to amazing technology (bionic pancreas) that would make living with this difficult disease much easier ... and maybe even a cure, as Thursday's news out of Harvard was amazing.

All year round, I do everything I can to promote awareness of this disease that affects around 3 million Americans but is much less understood than type two diabetes. But this time of the year, as we approach the annual JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes that we participate in, I kick into high gear with the raising of awareness - and money to help find that next step and ultimately that cure.

First, the awareness: In type one diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease, the pancreas has basically failed and does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Healthy people have pancreases that produce the right amount of insulin at the right times; type one diabetics have to take insulin externally, either via shots or an insulin pump, every time they eat, calculating the amount of insulin they need based on the amount of carbohydrates in the food they are eating, their activity level, their stress level ... the list goes on and on of things that affect blood sugar, making it incredibly hard to manage the levels like a functioning pancreas would.

Stupid pancreas.

In type two diabetes, which is a metabolic disorder, usually the pancreas still makes insulin, but the body cannot use the insulin properly for various reasons.

OK, on to the fundraising part: I'm a big believer in the cliche of putting "fun" into fundraising, because asking for money just for the sake of money is hard! So this weekend, I have planned two fundraisers for my little girl's Walk to Cure Diabetes team that I hope will raise money to aid those wonderful folks working so hard to give her and the other 3 million folks a better life.

First on Saturday, Oct. 11, is a Progressive Palette painting party in Williamstown from 2-4 p.m. This is $35 a ticket and is for adults and kids over the age of 8. This requires you to register and pay online in advance, and there are only a few spots left, so if you read this and want to go, click here ASAP. All snacks and instruction are included!

Then on Monday is a movie morning at the North Adams Move Plex. For $5 per person (cash only please) you can see "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" on opening weekend! The movie starts at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, which is Columbus Day and appears to be cool and rainy - the perfect day for a movie!

OK, shameless promotion department is closed. Other weekend activities include the Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival both days, the opening of the Spark!Lab at the Berkshire Museum on Saturday, Octoberfest from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday in Monterey, the Medieval Faire at Ventfort Hall in Lenox on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Ramblefest in Adams from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Whatever you do, enjoy the long weekend.