To Chattanooga Red Wolves SC President and General Manager Sean McDaniel, type 1 diabetes is his reality. In fact, McDaniel, diagnosed at three years old, has lived with the disease for nearly 94% of his life.
T1D is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure.
In T1D, your pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires your daily attention and manual intervention. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night—no simple task. It’s not an addition to a daily routine. It’s a total lifestyle change.
A father of four, McDaniel would have never imagined that his disease would reach past him. But in 2010, when his oldest son Trevor was just nine years old, he, too, was diagnosed. And 4 years later, the youngest of McDaniel’s four boys, Declan, was diagnosed at 18 months.
The McDaniel family, now with three T1D members, are rolling with the punches and creating a new normal.
Trevor checks his blood sugar via finger stick and receives insulin injections via insulin pens. Because he is an extremely active teenager, it can be very challenging to manage his T1D. He can’t just run out to soccer practice or a game like the rest of his teammates—he must know what his blood sugar is prior to the game, treat as needed, check again at halftime and once again post-activity. It’s very common for T1D teenagers to “burn out” with managing their disease, meaning they will often not check blood sugar and/or give insulin as often as needed which results in elevated blood sugar levels that can lead to life threatening complications.
Declan wears a continuous glucose monitor (GCM) which gives his blood sugar readings every 5 minutes. Though, it’s still necessary to check his blood sugar via finger stick if his symptoms and his readings don’t match up and also to calibrate the CGM at least twice per day. He receives insulin injections via syringe and must have insulin any time he consumes anything containing carbohydrates. Many factors affect blood sugar levels (such as activity, illness, heat, stress, growth spurts, hormones, food, etc.) and all must be taken into consideration when calculating the amount of insulin needed. Because of the constant monitoring of blood sugar level, there are only a few people outside of the McDaniel’s immediate family who can care for Declan. Any time Declan is not with his mom or dad, they are constantly monitoring his blood sugar via his CGM readings that are sent to their phones. His school nurse also follows his readings on her phone and is in constant communication during the school day.
Managing T1D is no easy feat. Families with T1D members often find solace in resources that foster awareness and community. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is one of those resources.
Founded by parents determined to find a cure for their children with T1D, JDRF works every day to change the reality of this disease for millions of people—and to prevent anyone else from ever knowing it—by funding research, advocating for government support of research and new therapies, ensuring new therapies come to market and connecting and engaging the T1D community.
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC recently announced its partnership with OddStory Brewing Co. (OBC), including the introduction of Red Wolves Irish Style Red Ale—a craft beer created and brewed specifically with the Red Wolves organization in mind.
Although Red Wolves Ale has been available in the OBC taproom for a couple of weeks now, it will be released in cans beginning tomorrow, Saturday March 23.
Because T1D heavily impacts members of the Red Wolves front office, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and OBC have agreed to donate 4% of all 4-pack sales to directly benefit the East Tennessee Chapter of JDRF and its mission to improve lives.
“Driving awareness with partners such as OddStory and JDRF is something I’m extremely grateful for. Were it not for the generosity of others, combatting this disease wouldn’t be possible,” said McDaniel.
Join us tomorrow at the OBC taproom to celebrate the canning and support a great cause!
For more information on JDRF and its vision of a world without type 1 diabetes, visit www.jdrf.org/about.
McDaniel Crew (L-R): Declan (6), Gavin (12), Trevor (17), Conner (14)
