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Death Valley gives hope for better life
  
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By Nicole Chillino
While it might seem counter-intuitive, a bike ride across Death Valley, Calif., has helped give those who suffer from diabetes a chance at a better life.
Monument residents Lynn Page and Britain Buxton were among those who participated in the more than 100 mile ride for the 9th annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Ride to Cure Diabetes in mid-October. Joined by Page’s sister, A.J. Matison and other family members, Page and Buxton conquered the ride to help find a cure to a disease they are all too familiar with.
When he was 5, Page’s son, Buxton, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Matison had received the same diagnosis when she was 9.
For those without the disease, the ride across Death Valley was difficult enough, but for those with diabetes, the long ride and hot weather meant several stops to check blood sugar levels and get them back on track.
“You never know what you’re going to face out there,” Page said.
She added heat and a grueling course are the only two elements that can be counted on.
She has been participating in bike rides to cure diabetes since 2004 and has done the Death Valley course before. Her first year, Page had never biked more than 35 miles, but the course in Asheville, N.C., was about 100 miles long.
“I’m not sure what propelled me to do it,” she said, “It was a struggle, but it became my annual pilgrimage.”
Also as a result of her familial connections to the disease, after retiring from the military, Page found a new life’s calling working for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“We forget there are people suffering each and every day with a disease,” she said.
The families of those suffering, however, the insulin pumps and blood tests serve as constant reminders of the disease.
“My son and my sister are my heroes,” Page said.
Children with autoimmune diseases like diabetes lose their childhoods quickly to tend to the needs the diseases produce. In the case of diabetes, children have to become accustomed to taking their blood and eating or using insulin shots to adjust their insulin levels.
In Page’s family, there is a genetic predisposition for diabetes, so finding a cure to the disease means not only helping those she already knows with the disease, but helping prevent future family members from being diabetic.
In recent years, there have been incredible strides made toward finding a cure to type 1 diabetes, Page said. There are now human clinical trials underway.
On any given day, there might be a breakthrough made that can stop juvenile diabetes, she said. The research is exploring ways to stop the onset of type 1 diabetes and stopping the attack on pancreatic cells that occurs with diabetes.
There are, however, some unfunded projects, which the foundation does not want to leave on the sidelines, because any one of them might hold the key to the cure, Page said. Furthermore, a cure for type 1 diabetes will benefit type 2 diabetes, which often has its onset later in life and can sometimes be kept under control with a healthy diet and exercise.
Page said as a parent of a freshman at Lewis-Palmer High School who is involved in golf and hockey, she is concerned about Buxton’s health, because if he were to experience a low in his insulin levels during one of his sports, he could go into a seizure.
With diabetes, there is also the potential for a double or triple whammy, because the disease makes diabetics prone to thyroid conditions and celiac disease — which requires those who have it to avoid gluten-containing foods.
Diabetics who contract the other conditions not only have to use insulin; they have to watch every bite that goes in their mouths and take thyroid medication.
“Once we find a cure [for diabetes], they won’t have to worry about any of it,” Page said.
Locally, there are several ways for northern El Paso County residents to help. To donate toward Page’s family’s race across Death Valley, visit www.sistersonbikes.com. To get involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on a local level, visit www.jdrfcos.org, or visit www.jdrf.org to get involved on a national level.
Monument residents Lynn Page and Britain Buxton were among those who participated in the more than 100 mile ride for the 9th annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Ride to Cure Diabetes in mid-October. Joined by Page’s sister, A.J. Matison and other family members, Page and Buxton conquered the ride to help find a cure to a disease they are all too familiar with.
When he was 5, Page’s son, Buxton, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Matison had received the same diagnosis when she was 9.
For those without the disease, the ride across Death Valley was difficult enough, but for those with diabetes, the long ride and hot weather meant several stops to check blood sugar levels and get them back on track.
“You never know what you’re going to face out there,” Page said.
She added heat and a grueling course are the only two elements that can be counted on.
She has been participating in bike rides to cure diabetes since 2004 and has done the Death Valley course before. Her first year, Page had never biked more than 35 miles, but the course in Asheville, N.C., was about 100 miles long.
“I’m not sure what propelled me to do it,” she said, “It was a struggle, but it became my annual pilgrimage.”
Also as a result of her familial connections to the disease, after retiring from the military, Page found a new life’s calling working for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“We forget there are people suffering each and every day with a disease,” she said.
The families of those suffering, however, the insulin pumps and blood tests serve as constant reminders of the disease.
“My son and my sister are my heroes,” Page said.
Children with autoimmune diseases like diabetes lose their childhoods quickly to tend to the needs the diseases produce. In the case of diabetes, children have to become accustomed to taking their blood and eating or using insulin shots to adjust their insulin levels.
In Page’s family, there is a genetic predisposition for diabetes, so finding a cure to the disease means not only helping those she already knows with the disease, but helping prevent future family members from being diabetic.
In recent years, there have been incredible strides made toward finding a cure to type 1 diabetes, Page said. There are now human clinical trials underway.
On any given day, there might be a breakthrough made that can stop juvenile diabetes, she said. The research is exploring ways to stop the onset of type 1 diabetes and stopping the attack on pancreatic cells that occurs with diabetes.
There are, however, some unfunded projects, which the foundation does not want to leave on the sidelines, because any one of them might hold the key to the cure, Page said. Furthermore, a cure for type 1 diabetes will benefit type 2 diabetes, which often has its onset later in life and can sometimes be kept under control with a healthy diet and exercise.
Page said as a parent of a freshman at Lewis-Palmer High School who is involved in golf and hockey, she is concerned about Buxton’s health, because if he were to experience a low in his insulin levels during one of his sports, he could go into a seizure.
With diabetes, there is also the potential for a double or triple whammy, because the disease makes diabetics prone to thyroid conditions and celiac disease — which requires those who have it to avoid gluten-containing foods.
Diabetics who contract the other conditions not only have to use insulin; they have to watch every bite that goes in their mouths and take thyroid medication.
“Once we find a cure [for diabetes], they won’t have to worry about any of it,” Page said.
Locally, there are several ways for northern El Paso County residents to help. To donate toward Page’s family’s race across Death Valley, visit www.sistersonbikes.com. To get involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on a local level, visit www.jdrfcos.org, or visit www.jdrf.org to get involved on a national level.
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