Mar 13, 2016
On today's DiabetesPowerShow, We welcome the Leavitt family. The entire family was in studio to share their Diabetes journey...times two. Lots of laughter and lots of tears. A fun time was had by all.
About the Leavitt Family
Jason and Michelle have been married for 18 years, and have three children; Jace the oldest son is 16, Erick the middle son is 13, and the youngest is daughter Oaklie who is 11. Their diabetic journey started in November 2011, when Michelle took Erick to the doctor, for what she believed was a urinary tract infection, due to frequent urination. Erick was diagnosed with T1D, which opened up a whole world the family knew nothing about. Over the next couple of years, the family worked to control Erick’s blood sugars, while learning all they could about T1D. This led them to become very involved with the JDRF.
Almost exactly three years later, in November of 2014, their daughter, Oaklie, was also diagnosed with T1D, after exhibiting similar signs to what Erick had shown. Although mentally and emotionally difficult to comprehend having another T1D, they were confident in maintaining a healthy and normal life for now two of their children. The Leavitts have taken a positive outlook, and learned to embrace their new life of living with T1D. They continue to be involved with the JDRF, as both Erick and Oaklie are Youth Ambassadors for the organization, as well as participating in the One Walk yearly.
This year, both Jason and Erick will be participating in the JDRF Ride to Cure in Tucson, Arizona, which is a 104 mile bike ride to support T1D.
Click here for their ride page.
Upon learning that Oaklie was also T1D, one of the changes that had to be made was their walk team name, which up to that point was Team diabErick. A party was held with all of their walk team supporters, as a kick off to introduce the new team name.
Click here for video of the retirement of the old name and the introduction of the new.