For Parker Burrows, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 5 meant the Reynolds Junior was facing a lifetime of finger sticks, counting carbs and 2 a.m. blood-sugar checks.

Burrows is one of more than 1,200 participants expected to do a fundraising walk for people living with Type 1 diabetes on October 22. Type 1 diabetes is much less common than Type 2, but it is just as deadly, it disproportionately affects children, and there is no cure.

The 2016 JDRF One Walk is a two mile walk at Wake Forest University’s BB&T Football Field sponsored by the JDRF’s Piedmont Triad Chapter.

The JDRF, which used to be known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is the world’s leading funder in Type 1 diabetes research, and all funds collected go to finding cures, treatment and prevention. Originally called juvenile or early onset diabetes, nearly 30,000 people in America are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes every year.

Type 1 diabetes is an immune disorder where the body can’t produce insulin. It’s most often diagnosed in children but patients with Type 1 diabetes will be insulin-dependent their whole lives. Adults who didn’t have it as children can also be diagnosed with the disease. Its causes are not entirely understood, but scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved.

Each year, JDRF One Walk brings together more than 900,000 people across the country to change the future for people living with type 1 diabetes.

“This fun, family–friendly event gives people with T1D—and their friends, family and co–workers—the opportunity to raise money for life-changing T1D research,” JDRF Senior Development Manager Eric Durham said. They walk to help JDRF ease the incredible burden of this disease for the millions affected, until we create a world without T1D.”

Photo from JDRF