Community Corner
Power Upper Elementary Family Walks to Fight Diabetes
Casey Schachern, 12, doesn't let diabetes keep her from participating in sports and enjoying her life – and neither does her dad.
Living with a disease that forces huge responsibility on her, Casey Schachern, a student at Power Upper Elementary, doesn’t let her type I diabetes stand in the way of her love for softball, Harry Potter, and all things pre-teen.
Casey, who is 12, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age four, the same year her father Chris was diagnosed with type II diabetes. Both will be walking in a fundraising event next month to fight the disease.
As a parent living with diabetes and watching his daughter grow up with the disease, Chris Schachern stresses that “despite her pump and glucose checks, Casey is exactly the same as other kids”. While growing up “the same as everyone else”, Casey and her family stand out in leading the charge in the fight against diabetes.
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The family's team will join more than 3,500 participants and volunteers to take part in the Stop Diabetes movement by participating in the American Diabetes Association’s national signature fundraising event Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, happening on Sept. 15 at The Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak. Casey and her family will headline as the 2012 American Diabetes Association Red Strider Family Ambassadors.
Funds raised at Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes help the American Diabetes Association increase awareness and understanding about the disease, and support the American Diabetes Association’s own Camp Midicha, a Michigan summer camp Casey attends where children with diabetes can come together in an environment that fosters community and learning.
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With over one million people in Michigan living with diabetes, 364,400 of those people living undiagnosed, Casey and her family are not alone in their battle with diabetes. To learn more about, or donate to the Schachern Diabetes Walk Team visit their team page at www.diabetes.org/stepoutdetroit.
To register, volunteer or find out more information about the walk, please visit www.diabetes.org/stepoutdetroit or call 1-888-DIABETES.
--based on an American Diabetes Association press release
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