in 2003, Wayne and Mary Ann Moore began noticing strange signs in their son Davis. The 6-year-old was constantly thirsty, and making frequent trips to the bathroom. On a family picnic that summer, the signs were hard to ignore.
“(Davis) drank his drink, both of his brothers’ drinks and even asked Mary Ann if he could drink her coffee,” Wayne recalls.
The family took him to the doctor the next day, and a blood sugar check determined his glucose levels were dangerously high. The doctor told them to go immediately to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital emergency room.
The diagnosis was Type 1 diabetes, caused by Davis’ immune system attacking insulin-producing cells in his pancreas. The insatiable thirst – one of the classic signs of the disease – was a result of his body’s attempt to excrete excess glucose through his urine.
For the Moores, who had no family history of diabetes, the diagnosis was hard to accept. “I could not wrap my arms around it,” Mary Ann says. “I was in disbelief, and filled with fear, tears and sadness.”
The family immediately began taking part in the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes and a letter-writing campaign to raise money for the JDRF of Greater Arkansas. Meanwhile, they also began tackling the around-the-clock task of managing Davis’ T1D.
“From the moment of Davis’ diagnosis, our lives changed,” Wayne says. “Managing T1D is a daily juggling act” — a juggling act requiring balancing carbohydrate intake and physical activity, insulin injections and multiple finger pricks a day to check blood sugar levels.
In 2008, the family experienced the same shock and pain again. Their oldest son, Jett — named after his great-great-grandfather, Jett Murphy — began noticing the symptoms Davis had five years before.
“He came home from an overnight camping trip and said he had been up all night drinking water and Gatorade,” Mary Ann says. “When I checked his blood sugar with Davis’ meter, his blood sugar was so high that it would not register.”
After Jett’s diagnosis, the family became even more involved with JDRF. Since 2003, Wayne has served on the Greater Arkansas JDRF Board of Directors in roles of president, president-elect, treasurer and finance committee chair. He’s also played roles on the Government Relations, Program Development, Strategic Planning and Communications committees. In 2006, the couple chaired the annual JDRF Gala.
For the Moore family, being an active part of JDRF means getting closer to the end of a disease that sufferers never outgrow or get a vacation from worrying about.
“It’s constantly on our minds,” Wayne explains. “We must constantly be on guard for the possibility of the boys ‘dropping low.’ On the opposite end of the spectrum, we are constantly concerned about their blood sugar being too high. The highs are what cause the devastating long-term complications of T1D.”
Sloan Lipke, development manager of the Greater Arkansas JDRF chapter, says about 21,500 Arkansans and 3 million Americans have T1D, with health care costs for its treatment reaching nearly $15 billion annually. Besides being the largest nongovernment funder of T1D research, JDRF also provides recently diagnosed families with items like a glucose meter and connects them with mentors — all while maintaining a superhuman level of efficiency. More than 80 percent of JDRF funds go toward research and educational programs.
In addition to the Imagine Gala being the Greater Arkansas JDRF’s largest annual fundraiser, this year’s event will honor longtime friends of the Moore family, Melanie and Jeff Fox, with the “Living and Giving” award. Melanie and Jeff got involved with JDRF after Davis was diagnosed. Since then, they’ve chaired and sponsored the gala, as well as served as critical sources of general support. Wayne and Mary Ann aren’t sitting on the sidelines, either — the couple is co-chairing the event with Dana and Scott Daniel.
“There’s such a personal side to every story,” Melanie says. “The struggles that diabetics live through, from the food that they eat to when they get sick. A cold can fluctuate their numbers.”
This year’s gala, set for 6 p.m. on April 27 at the Statehouse Convention Center, will feature a live and silent auction, with items ranging from a one-week trip to Disney World to original artwork, fashion and jewelry. The goal this year is $515,000.
“We remember the sadness, the tears and the fear when Davis was diagnosed, and we remember the devastation, shock and disappointment when Jett was diagnosed,” Wayne says. “Now we focus on the hope we share as a family that diabetes will be cured in our boys’ lifetime. We focus on the excitement and joy of hearing news of life-changing technologies that are being developed that will help our boys and others live healthier and safer lives.”
JDRF Imagine Gala
| When | 6 p.m.–11 p.m., April 27 |
| Where | Statehouse Convention Center Ballroom |
| Tickets | $200 per person, $2,000 for a table of 10, sponsorships start at $2,500 |
| Info | Sloan Lipke, 217-0321, SLipke@JDRF.org |