news-record.com

Oak Ridge Elementary first grader Will Gilbert is a strong boy.

“When he was just a baby, he was on four shots a day,” his father Chuck said. “For both of us, that is one of the most difficult things we’ve ever had to do.”

Will, 7, has Type 1 diabetes. It is more commonly diagnosed in children and young adults and was formerly known as juvenile diabetes. With this type of diabetes, the body does not produce insulin.

Will’s short life has been inundated with needles that provide the insulin he needs to keep his body functioning properly.

Will, his parents and about 60 others walked on the Will’s Warriors team for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund Walk for a Cure on Sept. 26. This year, the team raised nearly $12,000, adding up to nearly $70,000 to date for the organization.

Will’s teacher, Beth Allen, rallied the students in her class to participate on Will’s team for the JDRF walk, his mom said.

“She asked us if she could help, and within two weeks, we had seven kids who got up at 8 in the morning and came out to walk with us,” Holly Gilbert said.

The support from his family, friends and classmates is giving Will courage to continue to fight his disease.

“It’s hard to fight it,” Will said of the disease.

But he continues because it’s who he is, his father said.

“We know he has diabetes; we don’t want diabetes to have Will,” Gilbert said. “He is an extremely resilient young man, he plays soccer and baseball, does speaking engagements, he’s just growing up and understanding what it’s like to have a challenge.”

An estimated 3 million people are living with the challeng
e of Type I diabetes.

Many other local students, including teams from Greensboro Academy and Canterbury School, walked in support of classmates with diabetes.

Greensboro Academy eighth-grader Jake Vogel and seventh-grader Daniel Carr received the support of about 60 friends and family for their team for JDRF.

“At the school, we have a moral focus curriculum, and this was encouraged as part of the moral focus,” Greensboro Academy parent Caroline Smith said.

That team raised $2,300.

A 200-member team from Canterbury school, named for and inspired by three of that school’s students — Hutton’s Heroes for Hutton Johnston, Chandler’s Champions for Chandler Simpson and Matthew’s Mission for Matthew Audilet — raised nearly $14,000.

This year, the Triad JDRF walk brought out 1,600 walkers and a projected $420,000.

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373- 7157 or tiffany.jones@news-record.com