Army of walkers invades Crossroads Center to fight type 1 diabetes – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

WATERLOO After a night of freezing rain and snow, Crossroads Center was the perfect place to walk Saturday morning.

But the determined army of pedestrians circling the second floor wasnt the regular crew of mall walkers. These people were marching to end type 1 diabetes.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations One Walk was held at the mall, marking the 10th annual Cedar Valley fundraising event for the organization. Teams outfitted in matching T-shirts, often organized around someone diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, collected pledges in advance and walked every second floor hallway at Crossroads 12 times to reach the three mile goal.

JDRF is the leading global organization funding research into the disease. Walks like the one at Crossroads are the foundations biggest fundraiser.

Cedar Falls resident Lena Simmons, one of the volunteer organizers, said there were at least 31 teams and almost 1,000 participants at Saturdays event. She estimated that 22 teams and about 300 people participated during the first local walk in 2008.

Organizers set a goal of raising $103,200 this year and announced at the event they had reached $79,341. Fundraising will continue in the coming months at the local level. Id love to blow that (goal) out of the water, said Simmons.

For people who spend time every day monitoring their blood-sugar, insulin intake, food consumption and activity levels as well as for those who care about them it was a good morning. That was the case with Ellas Entourage, the team formed around 11-year-old Ella Milby.

She fights diabetes every day, but today actually feels like a special day for her, said her mom, Tessa. They came from Stillwater, Minn., after recently moving away from the Cedar Valley area. Its a good time; her friends come out and support her.

Randy Milby, Ellas father, said it reminds them she is not alone in the fight. He noted the Waterloo organizers do a lot to support those with the disease. They put on a nice event for the families, and the kids have a lot of fun.

Along with the walk, a fun fair was set up on Crossroads main level. It featured a bouncy house, a hole of mini golf, and a ring toss as well as booths for face painting, colorful hair sprays and crafts.

Type 1 diabetes strikes children and adults suddenly. It is unrelated to diet or lifestyle. The pancreas of those with the disease stops producing insulin, a hormone essential to turning food into energy.

Shes had diabetes for about 5 1/2 years, Tessa Milby said of her daughter. Before we even left the hospital (after getting the diagnosis) we were guided toward the JDRF group. Theyve participated in the walk ever since.

Thats also the case with the family of 10-year-old Allie Anfinson of La Porte City, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about four years ago.

Its a blast, we love it. We look forward to it every year, said Jodi Lickteig of Cresco, Anfinsons aunt. Our whole family comes from all across Iowa.

Originally, the girl received injections of insulin to maintain her blood-sugar level, but last year she got a pump. So, now shes going on 11 and shes mastered it, said Lickteig.

Simmons said the insulin pump her 19-year-old son, Dylan, uses is literally his lifeline. The device looks like a pager and has a cartridge filed with insulin thats regularly delivered to his bloodstream through a tube. He also wears a continuous glucose monitor that sounds an alarm if insulin levels go out of range.

When we started this (walk), the idea of a continuous loop glucose monitor was only whispered, said Lyle Simmons, Lenas husband.

Its fundraising dollars like this that make such a big difference, said Lena Simmons.

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Army of walkers invades Crossroads Center to fight type 1 diabetes - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier