by Tammy Garner, Thornton

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes is a fundraiser to find a cure for Type I Diabetes. Last year, nearly $98 million was raised through the Walk to Cure Diabetes throughout the country. In Denver, the 2006 Walk will be held on Saturday, September 16 at Six Flags Elitch Gardens. We are local residents of Broomfield, Colorado and we walk as "Tanner's Troopers" because Tanner Garner was diagnosed at 2 years of age.

Greg and Tammy Garner, Tanner's parents, met as scholar athletes while attending school at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. Tammy (Braye) Garner is a native of Colorado and attended Arvada West High School, while Greg Garner is a native of Cozad, Nebraska and attended Cozad High School. Greg was an All-Conference wide receiver in football and ran sprints and long jumped on the track team at Hastings College. Tammy played volleyball and is a member of the Hastings College Hall of Fame team of 1990. Tammy also was a high jumper on the track team at Hastings College. After years of being best friends, Tammy and Greg married in 1994. The couple moved to Grand Island, Nebraska where they resided for seven years. Two boys were born, Tyler Garner and Tanner Garner. Greg and Tammy moved to Colorado in 2001, and daughter Kenzi Garner was born one year later. Greg has a Master's Degree in Educational Administration and teaches English at Broomfield High School. Tammy received a Master's degree from Colorado State University and is an Occupational Therapist in the Boulder Valley School District (specifically at Aspen Creek K-8, Broomfield High School, and Coal Creek Elementary in Louisville.)

The very night, August 5, 2001, when the Garner family moved from Nebraska to Colorado, Tanner was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. He had shown textbook signs of diabetes: frequent urination, extreme thirst, weight loss, and lethargy during the weeks prior to diagnosis. Tanner was just two years old and there was no family history of Type I Diabetes in either family for generations. Needless to say, this diagnosis caught the Garner family completely off-guard. The day Tanner was released from Children's Hospital in Denver, The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes wrapped their arms around the Garners. After two full days of intense training, Greg, Tammy and Tanner left the center with life-changing information.

Without the love and knowledge gained from the Barbara Davis Center staff, the Garners feel that they would never have left as confident and supported as they felt in 2001. With both parents beginning new jobs and Tanner beginning preschool, many novel experiences paired with the rigors of Diabetes challenged the family. Tanner endured four years of an average ofseven blood sugar tests (finger pokes) per day and an average of four insulin shots per day. He even began testing his own blood sugar at the age of four. Because of an excellent history of diabetes management and an exemplary HbA1c (blood sugar readings over time), Tanner was blessed with the opportunity to begin using an insulin pump as a six year old in 2005.

Although Tanner must still poke his finger at leastseven times per day, he now does not have to take multiple daily shots. Instead, the insulin is pumped directly into his body through tubing that enters a temporary fatty tissue site. The pump is an ingenious tool! Tanner is now able to eat during times when heis hungry, and does nothave to eat during times when he is not hungry. Tanner is also able to gear the pump to adjust insulin levels according to exercise. Because of this new technology and faithfulness to management, Tanner's HbA1c is even lower than it was before - a level near those without diabetes. Tanner's doctors have been very impressed with the family management, and Tanner's enduring positive spirit in dealing with this life-threatening disease.

Tanner loves athletics: football, soccer, baseball and basketball are among his favorite activities. He is an avid outdoorsman; enjoying canoeing, swimming, climbing trees and riding four-wheelers. His favorite subject in school is, none other than, Physical Education! He is excited to begin first grade at Aspen Creek K-8 this fall. It is amazing to watch Tanner manage himself around other children without diabetes. He knows that he cannot have sugar drinks, most candies, and that even pizza parties and sub-sandwiches can be difficult, but through it all, Tanner remains the biggest "trooper" that we know! He is truly a hero to those who know him and a true leader in setting an example of how to live a healthy life with Type I Diabetes.

The Garners feel that the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is an incredible organization. JDRF supports a large number of fund raising events each year that support the important research and technology needed to advance the treatment of Type I Diabetes. In Tanner's case, as in many others, JDRF has been a life-saving foundation. The Garners have volunteered to be associated with this foundation since beginning to walk as a family team, "Tanner's Troopers," in 2001. Raising money for this organization is of utmost importance in the lives of so many children and young adults. Each year, family teams such as the Garners work harder and harder to raise more and more money in support of JDRF. The Garners could not have made it through this strenuous journey so far had it not been for the love and support of family members, friends, and the wonderful professionals at the Barbara Davis Center. And, because Tanner's journey will continue on, the family would love to have your financial support of Tanner's Troopers during this year's JDRF Walk campaign. If you find it in your heart, please log onto www.jdrf.org and click on "Tanner's Troopers" to support Tanner's fight against this terrible disease.

The Denver Walk is presented by the YUM Brand Restaurants, A&W, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, as well as Pepsi and Six Flags Elitch Gardens. Mike Trisler, the 2006 Corporate Chair for the JDRF Walk, and the regional director for Harmon Management/KFC, is leading the way to raise $1,000,000.00 to find a cure for diabetes. Mike, Harmon Management/KFC, and all other YUM Brands have put together a coupon booklet containing $150.00 of free items at all of the YUM Brand restaurants in Colorado. This amazing booklet sells for just $5, and 100% of the profits go directly to JDRF. JDRF Family Teams and School Teams will utilize this book to raise money to find a cure.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDRF gives more money directly to diabetes research than any other private agency in the world. Over 80% of the money raised by JDRF goes straight to research and education about research. In each of the last few years, JDRF has received high praise from a number of independent sources on charitable giving, including The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney Magazine, Forbes Magazine, The Non-Profit Times, the American Institute of Philanthropy, and Charity Navigator.

If you are interested in purchasing the YUM Brands coupon booklet, visit any of your local participating A&W, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, or Taco Bell restaurants. If you're interested in forming a Family Team, and School Team, or a Corporate Team for the Walk to Cure Diabetes, please contact Todd Fahnestock, Special Events Manager, at (303) 779-0525, or at tfahnestock@jdrf.org. To register for the Walk to Cure Diabetes, go to http://walk.jdrf.org.