Girl’s mission: to help find a cure
Published: September 29, 2006
With a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in 2001, 14-year-old Brittany Dunham-Villa has done more than just learn how to combat the disease. She has made a conscious effort to help raise money to find a cure through the work of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Dunham-Villa, a sophomore at Manchester Township High School, will participate for the third consecutive year in the eighth annual JDRF Walk at the Seaside Heights boardwalk Sunday. Her parents, Christine and Patrick McCoy, will join her in the walk.
Through donations from friends, family and church members, Brittany has raised nearly $500 for research efforts. She said she wants someone to find a cure for the disease so that people don’t have to suffer from high blood-sugar, which can lead to serious complications such as blindness, kidney damage and lower-limb amputations.
“I try to do anything and everything possible to help the diabetes association,” Brittany said. “Last year at school, I sold bracelets and raised over $800. I don’t want to be stuck with this disease my entire life.”
Christine McCoy said she did much of the paperwork for the walk during Brittany’s first participation, in 2004. But her daughter has become more active and now “loves putting it all together.”
“She has been able to recruit people (to contribute) through efforts at church, school and friends and family,” McCoy said.
Brittany has even distributed letters to neighbors, seeking their contributions, McCoy said.
McCoy described her daughter’s ordeal with diabetes as a “roller-coaster ride,” marked by high blood-sugar counts and occasional mood swings. Brittany has been aided in recent years by an insulin pump, which is attached to her body and helps monitor her condition.
“I got the pump four years ago, and it has really made things a lot better for me,” Brittany said. “It is connected to me 24/7, and it gives me a beeper sound when things get too high. When I need some insulin, it injects some into my body.”
Her mother said one of the most difficult things for parents is diagnosing the disease. Many are unaware of the symptoms, allowing diabetes to take hold in the system and begin to wreak havoc, she said.
“It took doctors three weeks to diagnose Brittany’s condition,” McCoy said. “Initially, it was thought to be a virus. Her weight dropped from 112 pounds to 78, but we weren’t able to put everything together. Finally, I went to the doctor and said, “I know this is not a virus.’
“I wrote down all the symptoms . . . weight loss, excessive thirst, repeat trips to the bathroom, and they finally realized it was diabetes.”
Those early days were especially tough for Brittany, who was 9 at the time.
“They wouldn’t let me leave the hospital until I had learned to give myself a shot and take blood tests,” Brittany said. “I hate needles, and it was very difficult. It took me about a year to finally get everything together.
“Now that I am on track, my goal is to get the word out about diabetes and help find a cure.”
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