A Little Hope Over Lunch...by Kristyn Crow | More from this Blogger 19 Oct 2006 08:29 AM
As we spoke over lunch, we talked about my two sons with juvenile diabetes. The director told me she could "count on one hand" the number of families in Utah that she knew of who had two children with JD. I let her know that we had already been contacted by several research study groups because of our unique situation. She also told me that one of the most promising new developments on the horizon of diabetes research is the artificial pancreas. I remembered how, at the "Walk to Cure Diabetes" event our family attended recently, one of my children had asked, "Why can't they just give everybody a new pancreas?" At the time, I laughed. But the irony is, perhaps someday they will do just that. The artificial pancreas would work the way a pacemaker works for a patient with heart problems. A device would be implanted inside the body which has the ability to continually measure blood sugar levels and dispense insulin into the body, the way a real pancreas would. She suggested that the artificial pancreas may be available sometime within the next three years. It would seem like with our technology that an artificial pancreas should have been created years ago. But such a device would have to be flawless, with plenty of safety features, since a malfunction causing a release of the wrong amount of insulin could potentially be fatal. Another area of study we discussed is stem-cell research. I plan to write a blog (or several) on this topic in the future, because it's so intriguing to me. With stem-cell research, we have the opportunity to not only cure diabetes, but spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other diseases. Stem-cell research is controversial on several fronts, but it carries with it an enormous amount of hope. It was a great lunch, and I went home with a brighter outlook, ready to get to work. When your child has an illness or disability, it can feel so imprisoning. You want to "fix" the problem, but what can you do? I think that even little things can make a difference. I can't cure diabetes tomorrow, but maybe I could make a book. There are many ways to advocate a cause. I'd love to hear your stories about the little things you're doing (with any cause) to help make a difference! Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow. Learn more about Kristyn Crow  Kristyn Crow is the mother of seven children, and the author of three children's books. Visit her website at www.kristyncrow.com. Relevantspecial needs tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags advocacy, children's books, diabetes, juvenile diabetes, pancreas Discuss this article
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Yesterday I had the opportunity to have lunch with the Executive Director of the Utah Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Another children's book writer and I are pitching the idea of creating some illustrated books which could perhaps go into the "Bags of Hope" which are given to newly-diagnosed kids. All of our work would be donations to the cause. I'm excited about the project and the director seemed very receptive and encouraging. 
