Diabetes walk in Lisle draws new, old supporters

Julie Burke was devastated when she learned her 10-year-old daughter, Emily, had diabetes in September of 2008. Burke knew nothing of the disease and had to watch as her daughter was sent to the pediatric emergency room at Edward Hospital in Naperville.

Since then, however, the Willowbrook resident has undergone somewhat of a crash course in the disease that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has affected more than 24 million people in the United States.

Type I diabetes, most often diagnosed in children, has struck about 3 million people.

"It was overwhelming at first," she said. "It was just an overload of information. We have learned so much in the past year."

On Sunday, Julie and her family attended the 31st Annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Lisle for the first time.

Like many others at the event, Burke's daughter's diagnosis motivated her to become more active and help the benefactors of the event, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Emily said daily responsibilities, such as checking her blood-sugar levels every day, have become a routine in the 13 months since her diagnosis.

With nearly 6,000 people expected at the Walk, she said she was excited about the event.

"I like it because they are all trying to figure out a cure for diabetes," she said. "There are a lot of people here to support it."

Five locations held the Walk to Cure Diabetes Sunday, including Community Park in Lisle, as well as sites in Libertyville and Schaumburg.

Kathy Mullen's son, Dan, was diagnosed with diabetes 26 years ago at 7 years old. It was then that she volunteered for the research foundation and even served a time on the Illinois board of directors.

She said major strides have been made since her Dan now 33, was first diagnosed, including insulin pumps and even the now-standard blood glucose meters.

"Almost everybody knows someone who is affected by it," she said. "Just to have the advances have helped him live with it."

Lisle has been the fundraiser's West suburban site for seven years. That was when Kristi Stearns first attended to help after her daughter, Bailey, was diagnosed. She said in those seven years, she and her family and friends have raised at least $50,000 in donations.

Bailey plays soccer and runs cross country, which has made it more difficult to monitor her blood-glucose levels.

But as she stood in her tie-dyed "Bailey's Buddies" T-shirt, which members of her team wore Sunday, Stearns said her daughter looks forward to the event every year.

"It's a really special day for Bailey," she said.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=326388">Libertyville diabetes walkers get backing of their No. 1 fan: Ron Santo <span class="date">[10/5/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>