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November 2022
To recognize and support the various charities that are close to the hearts of our employees, Resch, Root, Philipps & Graham is providing each staff member an opportunity to select their favorite charitable organization, introduce the organization in a blog post, and then make a donation in the employee’s name to that special cause.
This month, Charity Hinkle (one of our client relations specialists) and Nicole Lietz (who works in estate administration) each share stories of why Diabetes Awareness is important to them.
Charity:
My niece, Cecilia (Ceci), was diagnosed with Diabetes at the age of 2 after a brief illness that was originally believed to be the flu.
After adjusting to their "new normal", my brother and his wife learned how to treat Ceci on a daily, even hourly, basis. For a few years while she required manual injections of insulin, they administered daily shots and changed her port weekly.
When Ceci turned 4, she advanced to using an insulin pump. This gave Ceci more control and independence to maintain the levels required to stay healthy. She relied on her parents initially for a couple years, but improved every month in taking control of her disease. She even decided to attend an annual Youth Diabetes Camp every summer to surround herself with other kids living with diabetes. Today, she still maintains friendships with many of these campers!
Throughout her childhood, Ceci danced and played lacrosse, soccer, and basketball! She worked for several years at a marina and also at her local coffee shop. After applying to several colleges, she decided to attend Miami University in Ohio (13 hours from her home in Connecticut) to study Public Health Administration. Ceci would like to advocate for those living with Diabetes, improve awareness and continue with the fight to find a cure.
I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished! I will continue to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and their fight to find a cure for Diabetes.
Nicole Lietz
Our Son, Our Hero
On a cold Ohio February day in 2017, our family’s lives changed forever. That specific day, February 10, 2017, is now called Owen’s Diaversary. That’s right, Diaversary. It’s the day that the doctor’s at Nationwide Children’s Hospital diagnosed our youngest child with Type 1 Diabetes. Since we didn’t have any cases of diabetes in our family, either Type 1 or the more common Type 2, we were absolutely blindsided.
You may have heard the word, Diabetes, but what exactly is Type 1 Diabetes?
The Mayo Clinic offers this description: Type 1 diabetes in children is a condition in which your child's body no longer produces an important hormone (insulin). Your child needs insulin to survive, so the missing insulin needs to be replaced with injections or with an insulin pump. Type 1 diabetes in children used to be known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children can be overwhelming, especially in the beginning. Suddenly you and your child — depending on your child's age — must learn how to give injections, count carbohydrates and monitor blood sugar. There's no cure for type 1 diabetes in children, but it can be managed. Advances in blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery have improved blood sugar management and quality of life for children with type 1 diabetes.
My husband and I were determined to get educated quickly and for Owen to live his best life. And JDRF was right there, providing us, and more importantly
Owen, with their JDRF Bag of Hope. It’s filled with useful resources for both the child who has been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and their caregivers/ parents. Along with educational materials, they include a special friend – Rufus, the Bear with Diabetes – to show your child that he or she is not alone while learning to take shots and test blood sugar.
You can learn more about the Bag of Hope, Rufus, and how to donate to JDRF by clicking here: https://www.jdrf.org/t1d-resources/newly-diagnosed/children/bag-of-hope/
Years later, we have now moved towards advocacy and helping others understand the challenges of living with Type 1 Diabetes.
One way is our annual application to the City of Dublin to light up the Dublin Link bridge in BLUE on November 14th in honor and recognition of World Diabetes Day – a special day created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006 and it most importantly marks the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.
Another way our family and extended family advocates for Type 1 Diabetes is by participating in the Hands of Hope Event. On November 14th, we write “HOPE” on our hands and post the picture on social media. The intent is to show those with diabetes that they are not alone.
We are now well past that wintery Ohio day and happy to report that Owen is not just surviving, he is thriving. He manages his calculations for the amount of insulin he needs and administers it himself for his 4-5 daily injections. And the development of technology has definitely come a long way in helping those who are diagnosed with this chronic health condition.
While writing this, I asked Owen about what he would like people to know about Type 1 Diabetes and he said:
“Don’t think of it as the end of the world, but think of it as a new beginning.”
Our son, our hero.
Type 1 Diabetes Statistics
Approximately 1.84 million Americans have type 1 diabetes.
By 2050, 5 million people are expected to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
An estimated 64,000 people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
200,000 people under the age of 20 years old have type 1 diabetes.
Between 2011 and 2012, 17,900 children and adolescents under the age of 20 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
There was a 21% increase in people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 2001 and 2009 under the age of 20.
By 2050, 600,000 people under the age of 20 are expected to have type 1 diabetes.
There are $16 billion in type 1 diabetes-associated healthcare expenditures and lost income each year.
Less than a third of people with type 1 diabetes consistently achieve target blood-glucose control levels.
Preliminary data from T1International’s 2018 access and supply survey says that 1 out of every 4 US respondents have rationed insulin due to cost.