It was a rainy, windy, chilly Sunday morning as we put on Under Armor, additional layers and our "Sugar Heroes" team t-shirts. One by one arriving on the UAlbany campus and signing in for the JDRF walk for a cure. For those unfamiliar with JDRF, their fight is for juvenile type 1 diabetes. The uneducated on T1D may assume this has something to do with over consumption of sweets and foods that fall into that category. It couldn't be further from that.

Sugar Heroes JDRF Walk, Marissa, WGNA
Sugar Heroes JDRF Walk, Marissa, WGNA
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T1D, simply put, is when your immune system destroys the beta cells in your pancreas, those cells create the insulin your body naturally makes. Doctors aren't exactly sure what causes this, though they do know in some cases it is onset virally. That happens to be the case of my littlest buddy, Grayson.

Grayson, Marissa, WGNA JDRF Walk
Grayson, Marissa, WGNA JDRF Walk
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He is just over 1 year old and has a smile that lights up anyone he's around. You could see it at the walk yesterday. Grayson looked like the boy in the bubble when he got to campus, his stroller covered in a clear plastic to avoid the weather. Once he saw all of the people, all of the festivities, with all of his muster he pushed that plastic cover off to get his little legs moving. With a big smile and giggles to follow, he created a path through the crowd, passing all sized legs, some dogs who were more to his level and headed towards the music. Whether he meant to, or it was just a balance issue (he is 1 year old, after all) he seemed to have his swag on.

JDRF Walk in the Rain, Marissa, WGNA
JDRF Walk in the Rain, Marissa, WGNA
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As the walk began, Team "Sugar Heroes" gathered together, with Grayson back under his plastic shield. Costumed with our superhero masks, we walked along the UAlbany campus proudly.

Sugar Heroes team JDRF Walk, Marissa, WGNA
Sugar Heroes team JDRF Walk, Marissa, WGNA
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Grayson was only diagnosed at the end of March, with that being said our Team had about a month or so to get things together for the walk, including raising whatever we could. Thanks to family, friends and those generous enough via Facebook and other outlets, we raised almost $4,500! If you donated, thank you so much! Hopefully one day and one day soon we can live in a world without T1D. So little faces like Grayson's don't have to deal with issues like this before they can say more than a handful of words, go to the big boy (or girl) potty on their own or know the difference between a cat and a dog.

With Grayson, Marissa, WGNA
With Grayson, Marissa, WGNA
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For more information on T1D and JDRF please visit their Facebook.

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