Managing juvenile diabetes: Reese has a routine

Reese Riedasch is excited to be in basketball this summer. The 10-year-old from Superior is in the 4th grade.

She also has juvenile diabetes. Reese told us, “Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Anyone can get it.”

It means pokes, pods, and pumps are a part of her daily life.

Plus, she has to monitor her blood sugar closely, especially around meal times. “I have to give insulin before I eat something. Then I wait 10-15 minutes,” she explained.

There is no cure for diabetes. But there continues to be a push for one, thanks to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Reese will be giving a speech at the upcoming JDRF One Walk in Duluth on Saturday. It starts at 10am at Malosky Stadium.

“If you want to, you can try and support the JDRT to help people with diabetes. Which is trying to give money to scientists to help cure it,” she said.

Her doctor, Dr. Kannan Kasturi, said kids like Reese are battling each day.

“This walk is to support them. To show kids, who have enormous strength,” he said.

He and the care team at Essentia Health utilize cutting edge technology, to help patients like Reese manage this disease. “This disease affects children as young as two, and they need injections every single day of their lives. There’s no cheat days, no vacation days, no sick days. Every single meal needs to be accounted for.”

https://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=8969&pg=entry