Walk to raise money for juvenile diabetes, honor child's memory

Students, teachers and community members will walk Friday to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research and to honor the memory of a lost classmate.

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Breanne Tidmore was 8 years old when she died from undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes in 2005.
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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Breanne Tidmore was 8 years old when she died from undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes in 2005.

Friday would have been Breanne’s13th birthday. Members of the Gadsden community will mark the date with a walk at Southside Elementary School throughout the day, culminating in a balloon release at Breanne’s grave site at 3:30 p.m.

This is the fourth walk her mother, Brooke Tidmore, has sponsored to raise awareness and funds for juvenile diabetes research.

When Breanne got sick, Tidmore thought she had a virus. But her doctor knew almost immediately what was wrong. A test showed her blood sugar level was 600. A virus attacked her pancreas, halting insulin production. She went into a diabetic coma and was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where she died.

“We’re doing the best we can to raise money for this,” said Breanne’s great-grandmother, Mary Phillips. “We do it every year in her memory, and I understand it’s helped a lot of kids find out they have juvenile diabetes.”

In previous years, Tidmore said the Gadsden community has raised about $65,000 per year to donate to the diabetes research center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

This year has been more difficult than most for raising money and finding sponsors, she said.

The walk this year will be held at Breanne’s former school, which Tidmore said has remained supportive of her efforts despite the troubled economy. Any who wishes to contribute to this year’s cause may call Southside Elementary School at 442-1090 for information.

More than 15,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with Type 1 diabetes, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas,” the JDRF Web site states.

Although it often strikes children suddenly and with many serious complications, Type 1 diabetes also can occur in adults. Those diagnosed with it must give it constant attention, with multiple daily insulin injections, according to JDRF.

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include extreme thirst, frequent urination, drowsiness or lethargy, increased appetite, sudden inexplicable weight loss, sudden vision changes, sugar in urine, fruity odor on breath, heavy or labored breathing, stupor or unconsciousness.

The balloon release is open to the public and will take place at Williams Southside Chapel-Memorial on Alabama Highway 77..0