Evie Boyd

I am walking for T1D!!

I'm joining the world's largest walk for a future without type 1 diabetes (T1D) at Cathy Freeman Park on Sunday 23 March 2025!

I want to help as much as I can to support the JDRF Research towards curing Type 1 Diabetes across Australia. In addition, I want to raise awareness across my school, community and Australia about the symptoms and hardships of diabetes. 

Type 1 Diabetes is indeed an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This results in the pancreas stopping insulin production, which is crucial for allowing glucose to enter cells for energy. Without insulin, glucose accumulates in the blood, leading to high blood sugar levels. Diabetics like myself rely on technology like Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and Insulin Pumps to manage their blood sugar levels. Before this technology existed, diabetics like my brother had to take multiple needles of insulin a day as well as manual finger pricks every few hours to check blood sugar levels. However, thanks to JDRF, this is not the case for millions of diabetics today! 

Over the past years of having diabetes, I have noticed how unaware people can be when it comes to T1D and T2D. I want to change this.

Around 8 people are diagnosed every day, and I hope one day this becomes 0.

Both my brother and I have T1D and both us and our family put extreme effort into managing this complicated, tiring and frustrating disease. 

Last time I participated in the walk, it was for him, now it is for the both of us, and diabetics across Australia. I was 6 the first time and had no idea what was going on and why everyone was walking laps of a park for my brother.

Growing up, I watched him for over a decade deal with the hardships of Diabetes, every sleepless night and thousands of needles and alarms. 

Then, when I was diagnosed just over 2 years ago, everything became so real. I was no longer an observer, now I had to put my knowledge towards myself. It has been scary but also incredibly fascinating to learn about my body, and what it can and can't do. 

In 2022, I began to drink 2-4 bottles of water each day, lost weight, went to the bathroom more and became extremely tired. I didn't notice much; just thought I was becoming healthier because of the water I was drinking. It wasn't until I remembered one time Mum had told me how James was diagnosed, and his symptoms. When I told Mum about what I was experiencing, she immediately flagged it, checked my BGL, and took me to the hospital.

As diabetics, we have to make over 180 minuscule decisions each day that people don’t notice. It takes constant, exhausting effort to properly manage this condition, with results still not where we want it to be.

I like to believe that it will only be a few more years, which can be achieved with your help! Your support and donations, even a single dollar will help to change the lives of those living with T1D every day.