Juvenile Diabetes Research - Please Help if You Can

February 27, 2008

Every so often we are reminded that for at least some part of each day, work is not — or more to the point should not be — the single most important activity in our lives.

I just received word that a colleague in the VoIP industry who I had the fortune to work with several years ago is undergoing a serious family challenge, and I thought I would push his story along here, in the hopes that perhaps someone might be inspired to pitch in and help out a bit.

John Wind, who some of you may remember from VoIP Inc., or Volo Communications, or even SIPstorm, sent me a note detailing a frightening experience that he and his family had to endure over the recent holiday season. Here’s his story:

Friends, You may or not be aware that during the Christmas holiday, my 13 year old son became very ill and what we would soon come to find out, deathly ill… Over a one-week period, he literally began to melt away in front of our eyes. Although he’s always been thin (5’ 7” – 120 pounds) he was drinking water and eating excessively. He dropped in that time to 89 pounds and could hardly get out of bed.

Although his symptoms were that of an extreme flu, I finally got him to the doctor where he was immediately diagnosed with Type-1 (also known as Juvenile) diabetes. He was in a severe DKA crash (diabetic ketoacidosis). The non medical meaning is that his body was eating itself to survive! He was immediately rushed to St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital in West Palm Beach and spent the next several days in ICU where they brought him back from the brink.

To keep this short, Alex skirted death right under our noses and even though we have diabetes in our family (3 of 4 of his grandparents) we didn’t “get it”. The good news is that he has recovered and is a whole new person, putting on all of his weight and is able to focus much better. The bad news is that this is happening all over the world, not just with obese children. Well, as you may imagine, we are now supporting the efforts to increase awareness of Juvenile Diabetes. We will be producing videos for education into the schools, churches, etc. I am donating these services given the business that I am in.

[Ed. Note: John’s latest venture is a Web-based Business Broadcasting Network called HotWave TV.]

The organization that we have aligned with is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Int’l http://www.jdrf.org/ , a wonderfully dedicated organization. We are working with the local chapter in Palm Beach.

My wife Sherri is also contributing with a fund raiser “Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes” in the next few weeks. We have a goal of raising them at least $1,000 (but I think we can do a lot better). Your help and support, even if just a few dollars (tax deductible) would be enormously appreciated. Every penny counts and one day when they do find a cure, your nominal contribution would have gone to saving children from a life threatening disease.

She will be walking on March 8th for the Walk to Cure Diabetes along with a half-million other people! Please visit www.jdrf.org to make your donation and select Walk Central, then Donate, then Support Walker and select Sherri Wind from the walker list.

*Here’s the shortcut to the page you need: http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=86975021.

So please, if you can, support Sherri’s walk for a cure. Every penny helps!

Thank you very much!