A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes may seem like the end of the line for some, yet there is hope for those receiving such life-altering news. On March 25th, 2022, I became one of the 37.3 million people living with diabetes. It was the Friday before my senior spring break and instead of boarding a bus to Florida with my baseball teammates as I had hoped, I found myself at the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital receiving a diagnosis of type one diabetes. This diagnosis was soul-crushing. I was an athlete and never had any critical health issues, but now I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. I thought my life was over. Not only was this a shock to me, but to the rest of my family as well. This disease is a chronic condition and something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life, yet my knowledge of it is so minute. For the next 24 hours, I saw countless doctors, received numerous tests, and even experienced my first urgent low due to an overdose of insulin my first night. 

          The mental and social battle that you fight with yourself and society is one that takes a lot out of you. Once the initial feeling of shock wears off, you begin to feel somewhat hopeless and confused about what the next steps may be. As a student-athlete, this uncertainty was multiplied for me and made me question if I could get back on the field to compete. These are just some of the things that you struggle with when you receive a life-changing diagnosis. 

          As I became more informed about this new hurdle in my life, the brighter the light at the end of the tunnel became. The hope that everything would turn out alright grew with each passing hour, but I knew this was just the beginning of my journey. By Saturday afternoon, I was checked out of the hospital and on my way to Florida but with much uncertainty. While I had set my sights on making the team trip, mentally I had a lot going on. I still had not fully coped with the events of the previous day. My body was still recovering, and I was learning how to manage this disease. 

          Now several months later I realize that many people know OF diabetes, but when it comes down to it, they really don’t know ABOUT it. You may see people walking the streets with all sorts of gadgets stuck to their arms and body and associate it with diabetes but never truly understand the importance of these life-saving machines. This was true for me as I went about the first 17 years of my life. I never thought twice about what it truly meant to be diabetic. It’s likely that you don’t know that diabetes is the most expensive chronic condition in our nation. One in which 1 out of every 4 dollars in United States health care costs is spent on caring for those 37.3 million people living with diabetes. But what does it truly mean to be diabetic and how can we help those affected chart their own course?

          That is where the Jurcisin Family Foundation steps in. We want to provide hope to those children and families impacted by this chronic disease. We recognize the mental and social challenges being faced by those afflicted require real support and we want to be there to provide it. Our mission is to support newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics and their families, and aid in a seamless transition to their new lifestyle, all while fostering awareness about this condition. We plan to launch mental and social support groups, offer educational materials, and invest in innovative diabetic research.