Family steps up efforts for diabetes walk

CEDAR RAPIDS - For nearly 20 years, Mike Schrock coped with the challenges of diabetes, but his resolve for change took a turn when his 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with the same disease.

“When that day came, it was my worst nightmare,” says Schrock, 34, of Urbana. “Juvenile diabetes is a battle every day that just never stops - a continuous 24-hour, 365-days-a-year battle that doesn't take a vacation. I didn't want her to jump over the same hurdles.”

Schrock continued to participate in baseball, football and other high school activities after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15.

But he wanted to hide the finger pricks, insulin injections and other daily obstacles from his classmates and knew his daughter, Micheala, now 6, could experience the same.

Schrock, who has had eye surgeries related to diabetes and suffered a heart attack at age 30, also knows firsthand the health complications that accompany the disease, a leading cause of amputations, kidney failure and blindness.

Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, happens when the body's immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin - through injections, or like Schrock and his daughter, via pump - to stay alive.

An estimated 26 million Americans have diabetes, including about 3 million with type 1, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The remainder have type 2 diabetes, which can often be controlled by diet and exercise and is linked to aging, obesity and other factors.

Schrock, executive director of Community Based Services in Waverly, and his wife, Heather Schrock, 34, an outreach coordinator at Linn County Public Health, had discussed the chances of having a child with diabetes before starting a family.

They were told the odds were the same as other parents; genetics and environmental factors are thought to play a role.

Their first child, Dylanne, 8, is not diabetic, but the couple noticed symptoms early in Micheala, such as excessive thirst and irritableness.

Schrock credits the teachers and nurse at Center Point-Urbana Schools, where Micheala is a first-grader, with providing support for their daughter, including with the family's fundraising efforts for JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The family has thrown full-out efforts into the group's annual Walk to Cure Diabetes. This year's signature event, at Westdale Mall, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25.

Meredith Stewart, 27, JDRF special events manager for Eastern Iowa, says the walk raised $540,000 last year, with about 3,000 participants.

The goal for this year's event is $565,000 and 3,500 walkers. Eighty percent of the money goes to research, including studies on diabetes complications and other projects at the University of Iowa.

Participants walk the upper level of Westdale six times, or about three miles.

Stewart, of North Liberty, says the event raises awareness about type 1 diabetes and is also a show of support for people living with the disease, including her.

Diagnosed as a 6-year-old, Stewart and her husband, Jake. are expecting their first child in May, which points to the advances made in controlling diabetes, she says.

People like the Schrocks are important in the fundraising efforts, as well as meeting with other families experiencing diabetes diagnoses for the first time, Stewart says.

“You couldn't meet a more passionate person for the cause,” she says of Mike Schrock, whose family will participate in their third walk.

Schrock says he is glad to meet with other families and speak to groups about diabetes.

Family and friends will join the Schrocks' Team Pump Princess for Saturday's walk, with the hope of raising $13,001, a goal that Micheala chose.

They participate in fundraising year-round for the event, says Schrock, who also started a blog last year about their efforts.

“I made the decision after the first walk that I need to step up what I'm doing,” he says. “It gives you a lot of hope that there will be a cure someday.”

If you go 

• What: Eastern Iowa Chapter of JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes
• Where: Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids
• When: Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.; walk begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012
• Cost: Registration fee by donation
• Other: For more information, see: www.jdrf.org/easterniowa or call (319) 393-3850.
• To see Mike Schrock's blog about living with type 1 diabetes, go to: www.pumpprincess.blogspot.com