Fundraising for a Cause

Let me start by talking about how much I hate asking people to donate money.  I seriously hate it.  I know how tight our budget is so I don't want people to feel obligated to donate money.  With that being said let me tell you about why I decided to fundraise....


Cole was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was 13 months.  He was pretty much just coming off a milk diet and moved around about as much as any 13 month old does. Just reiterating that this is Type 1 and not Type 2 (diet and exercise can't fix this).  Type 1 is an autoimmune disease where your body mistakenly attacks the insulin producing cells in your body.  So now his body does not make insulin.  This means he receives insulin by injections or by his insulin pump (which pump sites are done every 2-3 days).  Pump sites changes consist of a needle pushing a small plastic cannula under his skin that will deliver him insulin.  He also wears a sensor which gives a blood glucose reading every 7 minutes.  Changing this also requires a larger needle pushing small wire looking things into his skin.  This is changed every 7-14 days.  Even though he wears this it is not always accurate so he still has his finger pricked 5-10 times daily.  We count every carb that goes into his mouth.  We give insulin accordingly we.  If he goes high we give insulin (at an amount that is constantly adjusted by me depending on how the wind is blowing that day).  No 2 days are the same.  Everything changes.  Sometimes exercise causes him to go low sometimes he goes high.  Being in the heat skyrockets his blood sugar.  So many different factors.  If I don't calculate his insulin needs properly and he goes high I am causing damage to his organs and slowly over time he will start to have complications.  Or if he is high too long he could go into DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) which can potentially be fatal. Even if he's sick and his numbers are in range he can still go into DKA (hence the reason if you are sick we ask you to stay away).  On the opposite side if I give him too much insulin it could result in seizures, unconsciousness or he could even die. Just to be clear, his pump is not magical. It does not dose him on it's own.  I program the pump with the amount of insulin he gets for his carbs (this is his carb ratio).  I also program the pump for his correction factor (if he is high how much insulin he gets).  I also program the basal rate (the insulin he gets continuously through the day and night).  These numbers constantly change and it's up to me to decide how they change (doctor guides us if needed).  


So why do I fundraise?  Because I love my son more than anything in the world and I don't want to make mistakes that could be deadly or cause him to have damaged organs when he gets older.  I want him to be happy and healthy.  I want there to be a cure.  I am a pretty pessimistic, negative person so I am not really sure there will ever be a cure but I do know that there will be advancements in technology that can make his life easier.  They can help keep his numbers more stable and he can be over all a more healthy boy.  


Why do I fundraise for JDRF?  Because of the reasons I have listed above and because through JDRF we have met some great people.  Some people that have been very supportive during this journey.  Friends that we are bonded with because of Type 1.  


So while I hate asking people to donate money I did set up a fundraiser.  I saw one day on a LuLaRoe site that a lady named Anh, reached out to her followers stating that if there was a cause near and dear to your heart to get in touch with her that she could set up a fundraiser.  So I did.  I know several people that love LuLaRoe's clothes and thought this would be perfect.  I know so many people that wear it already that I don't really have to ask for donations.  They can just buy something they already love, the price isn't increased, it doesn't cost them anymore but Anh would be donating $3-5 from every piece sold and LuLaRoe would be matching her donation. How wonderful!!  I think I expected too much.   I know a ton of people on FB that wear LuLaRoe so I thought this was a no brainer. I thought all my lularoe loving "fb friends" would hop on over to our online store and share with their other Lularoe loving folks and we would have a successful fundraiser without me having to ask people directly for money.   I mean I don't except people to buy something if they can't find anything they like, but hey I thought they would at least join our fundraiser and check it out.  Don't get me wrong so many did (actually people that I didn't even know liked Lularoe and people trying it for the first time) but but so many that I thought would did not (those that i knew already loved it and wore it all the time).  


That being said, Thank you to those that joined our fundraiser even if you didn't find anything.  Thanks for taking the time to browse the selection.  Thank you to those that checked out our video and liked our post even if you didn't join the fundraiser because LuLaRoe isn't for you ( i understand but thank you for taking your time for reading our posts and there were a lot of them).  A big thank you to Anh who held the fundraiser for us and to LuLaRoe for matching Anh's contribution. Thank you to Kristin a friend that goes way back for posting our fundraiser on her very own LuLaRoe site and asking for support for our fundraiser.  This was such a sweet jester and your kindness is greatly appreciated.  


Thanks again to all those that participated in our fundraiser whether you bought anything or not.  Y'all are awesome even for just checking it out.  Below are links to Anh's Lularoe site and Kristin's Lularoe site check them out if you are in the market for LuLaRoe.  I truly appreciate these two ladies.


Anh's Lularoe

Kristin's Lularoe

Our video we did to promote our fundraiser : ) Cole is a goofball! JDRF Fundraiser with LuLaRoe

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