Cary 18-year-old putting up a fight after Type 1 diabetes diagnosis

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) of North Carolina is on a mission for a cure for Type 1 diabetes. According to the foundation, an equal number of children and adults are diagnosed at about 110 people per day.

18-year-old Shyan Colter of Cary is one of them. She is contributing a special crochet dinosaur as a Hope Basket in the 2023 JDRF raffle.

She made one for her mom as well. Colter’s other talent was competitive gymnastics. By the age of 14 her body seemed to fight back.

"My family mostly thought it was growing pains," said Colter.

Her mom, Monique Colter explained, "she started getting sick. It was very scary, because I didn’t know what was going on with her. She lost 18 pounds in two weeks."

Fonville saw her daughter struggle to breathe, going in and out of consciousness.

"And they had to call the ambulance because she was about 15 minutes away from falling into a diabetic coma," said Fonville.

The diagnosis was Type 1 diabetes. It required a new life schedule, with around the clock finger pricks, frequent insulin injections and a costly array of tools and medications.

"You know, needles are expensive. Lancets, test strips and then you have to have the whole set of pumps," said Fonville.

She added, "It’s a person’s life at stake that they literally need this instrument in order to live! It shouldn’t be that. It shouldn’t be that costly!"

Through all the worries, Shyan found valuable comfort through JDRF.

"For me, they have really been able to help me connect with other diabetics and just get a really great support system," said Colter.

Still, her family and many others face hard financial choices.

Fonville wondered, "will my child die because she can’t afford insulin? What steps can I do to prepare for those emergency times in the future, especially if I’m not here?"

JDRF is the leading global organization funding Type 1 diabetes research. JDRF is improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications.

Although the signs of T1D can begin to show early, sometimes it takes a person a while to recognize the symptoms which can include frequent urination, extreme thirst, dry mouth, fatigue and weakness, increased appetite, unexplained weight loss, and slow healing cuts.

If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms talk to your doctor about getting tested for T1D.

To support JDRF Hope Gala, check out their website here. You can learn more about JDRF and T1D here. You can also follow JDRF on Twitter.