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When you or a loved one is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it is a traumatic and stressful time. Fear, sadness, anger, and confusion about how to manage the disease can leave families feeling alone and overwhelmed. JDRF offers resources to support you and your family in this overwhelming and stressful time.
JDRF Illinois can help with:
• Bag of Hope for newly diagnosed families
• Mentors
• Online question answering through our Online Diabetes Support Team (ODST)
• Support group and get-together information
• Ways to meet other newly diagnosed families
If you have any other questions, please contact us at 312/ 670-0313 or via email at cpotempa@jdrf.org.
Our Bag of Hope is a package distributed by local hospitals and by our chapter to newly diagnosed families. This bag contains information about diabetes and about our local activities. Please call our chapter office at 312/ 670-0313 to receive a Bag of Hope.
Please note: due to limited resources, we can only provide Bags of Hope for people diagnosed within the last 3 months.
See a clip of Executive Director Patrick Reedy talking about the Bag of Hope program
JDRF Illinois has a team of trained mentors that are available to provide support and resources to anyone living with type 1 diabetes. We are able to help both newly diagnosed families and adults, long-time diagnosed families and adults, as well as anyone living with the day to day challenges of type 1 diabetes.
Our team of mentors consists of parents of children with type 1 diabetes and adults living with type 1. They can speak to many different experiences, as well as lend a listening ear.
To request a mentor, please email Christine Potempa.
* Mentors can only share personal experiences with you. They are not healthcare professionals and are unable to provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor for any medical questions.
The JDRF Illinois Online Diabetes Support Team (ODST)
The JDRF Illinois ODST is a group of trained volunteers who are available to answer questions submitted through our online form. Our volunteers are people living and coping with diabetes every day, who are there to provide support and resources to you.
If you have a question or concern, please complete the form below. One of the volunteers will personally respond by email. JDRF and the volunteers recognize your trust and fully respect your privacy. Our terms and conditions are listed here.
* ODST volunteers can only share personal experiences with you. They are not healthcare professionals and are unable to provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor for any medical questions.
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Would you like to connect with other young adults dealing with type 1 diabetes? Please join the young adult type 1 google group! This online group is designed for young adults to connect with one another in and around Chicago. This site has information on issues that may affect young adults (preparing for college, alcohol, depression, etc.) as well as an opportunity to get advice from other young adults dealing with diabetes. To join, please visit http://groups.google.com/group/type-1-diabetes-young-adult-group or email type-1-diabetes-young-adult-group@googlegroups.com to be added to the group.
Networking Get-Togethers provide support for you and your family and connect you to other people who live with diabetes in your area. The groups are mixed with both parents of newly diagnosed children and parents that have been managing their children's diabetes for years. The get-togethers provide an opportunity for parents to share resources in the area, provide tips on what works for them, and a place to get support from someone who knows what you are going through.
For more information about local support groups, please contact Christine Potempa at cpotempa@jdrf.org.
We are in need of volunteers to host get-togethers in other areas of Illinois. If you are interested in helping us start a new group in your area, please indicate this on the form below, and we will contact you with more details. You can also contact Christine Potempa at 312/423-7198 or at cpotempa@jdrf.org for more information.
Networking Get-Together Areas :
Chicago/Northern Suburbs
West Suburbs
Dixon, Illinois
Munster, IN/Southside of Chicago
Southern Illinois
There is a new virtual support group for parents of children living with type 1 diabetes in Central Illinois. This is an informal email group for parents looking for support from one another. To sign up, please visit Parents of Children with Diabetes. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jennifer VandeWiele.
JDRF has launched a social networking web site geared toward teens and young adults living with type 1 diabetes in order to help address the unique needs of a population transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with this disease.
The site is called Juvenation and can be found at www.juvenation.org. Juvenation will serve as an interactive portal for people 15-19 with type 1 diabetes, to connect with their peers and receive relevant information and advice on managing their disease. Be sure to join the Illinois Chapter group on Juvenation to keep up local activities and information!
JDRF does not sponsor or endorse any of the resources listed below.
On July 8 and 9, 2010, twenty-five families gathered at University of Chicago’s "Celebrating the Miracles," a symposium for patients, parents and physicians focused on monogenic diabetes, a type of diabetes caused by a defect in a single gene. Monogenic diabetes can be treated with an oral medication developed for type 2 diabetes that helps restore normal insulin secretion in patients.
JDRF Illinois volunteers, Mike and Laurie Jaffe, have been at the forefront of the effort to educate people about this rare strain of diabetes since Mike learned about monogenic diabetes at a JDRF Illinois board meeting at which Dr. Lou Philipson of the University of Chicago presented. Shortly thereafter, their daughter Lilly -- who met the criteria, having been diagnosed in her first six months of life -- was tested, and was shown to have this rare, genetic mutation. Lilly is now nine years old, and has been living life insulin-free for three years.
For more information about monogenic diabetes, please visit www.monogenicdiabetes.org.
University of Chicago’s press release
The purpose of the Diabetes Connection is to provide the opportunity for children with diabetes and their families to interact and learn from one another in a fun filled environment. Please visit: www.thediabetesconnection.com for upcoming events and information.
For information on local events sponsored by Medtronic, please visit. http://www.minimed.com/events.
Fifty50 Medical, the mail order diabetes supply company, donates 50% of its earnings to diabetes research! To date, the company has contributed $10.5 million – and pledges to continue to donate 50% of its earnings to diabetes research until a cure is found.
Fifty50 carries all brand name diabetes supplies including pump supplies, blood test meters and strips, syringes, attractive and affordable medical ID bracelets, and more. Fifty50 will file all insurance claims and ship products free to your door every month.
To learn more about how to sign up with Fifty50 Medical, please visit www.fifty50pharmacy.com, call (800) SHOP-505.
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