#diabetes #type1 December 24, 2009
The half-time feature will chronicle the daily challenges families face and overcome when dealing with diabetes. We’re particularly grateful to the NBA and ABC for airing this segment on the day of the largest viewing audience of any NBA game of the year. Ten million viewers are expected world-wide and that’s more than double the amount of those who will watch the NBA Finals.
Since their son Walker was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the 2007 NBA Finals, Ray and Shannon Allen have been relentless in their efforts to build philanthropy and awareness around this disease, including their volunteer work for Joslin as well as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. We are grateful to them for literally opening the doors of their home so others could learn what millions of families in America face everyday.
Ray and Shannon know all too well that, unless significant progress is made in diabetes research, the experts see our country and the world facing a dramatic rise in this epidemic. Just last month, a University of Chicago study concluded that diabetes will nearly double in the U.S., from 24 million Americans in 2009 to 44 million in 2034. In that time, spending on diabetes will almost triple, from $113 billion to $336 billion.
No other institution in the world cares for and educates more patients/families with diabetes than Joslin. And more importantly, no other institution has the depth and breadth of research around this single disease, including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and the potential complications it causes throughout the body.
So please, tune into the game on Friday to learn more about diabetes and then join our quest for a cure.
