JACKSON — A local woman is being recognized by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) this month for her efforts to help find a cure for the disease that has affected millions of individuals.
During the last four years, Jackson resident Rebecca Jewell has been a participant in Step Out: Walk to STOP Diabetes, raising thousands of dollars in the process, according to a press release.
Jewell, who is the mother of three children — Anderson, 5; Isla, 3; and Emery, 4 months — said she became aware of diabetes and the need to find a cure after meeting her husband, Bobby.
The couple has been married for eight years.
“My husband has had Type 1 diabetes since he was a child,” Jewell said. “It has been a constant struggle for him to live with this disease, and I have seen firsthand how the disease affects those who are diagnosed as well as the people around them.”
She said her husband’s lifelong illness drove her to action one night in 2010 following a harrowing experience with diabetic ketoacidosis. He spent a week in a hospital intensive care unit.
“It was truly the scare of my life, especially with a 2-year-old son and finding out I was pregnant with our second child while my husband was in the hospital,” Jewell said.
Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes have been diagnosed in more than 29 million American children and adults, according to the ADA.
Referencing current diagnosis trends, the ADA estimates that one in three adults will be diagnosed with the metabolic disease by 2050.
The goal of the ADA is to “prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected” by the disease. The association does so by providing funding to help discover preventative, curative and manageable diabetes treatments.
The ADA provides diabetes-related services and information to many communities throughout the country.
Jewell said she will be taking part in the Princeton Step Out at the Novo Nordisk campus on Oct. 19, not only to help her husband, but also for everyone affected by diabetes.
“I walk and raise money to help fight diabetes so that one day there will be a cure and people like my husband will be able to live a normal life without fear of all of the horrible effects diabetes can cause,” Jewell said.
For more information about how to get involved in the ADA’s efforts, call 1-800- 342-2383 or visit www.diabetes.org.