Family aims for $10k in diabetes walk

The following article was submitted by Bryce Jensen on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Ryan Pruitt was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, so as a fourth-grader, receiving four to five injections of insulin a day is old hat.

That doesn't mean he has given up hope of beating the autoimmune disease that targeted him for no reason.

Instead, Ryan, now 9, and his family are participating in this year's JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on Nov. 1at Tempe Town Lake.

To up the ante and help the Pruitts reach their fundraising goal of $10,000, the family is offering all donors to their team a chance to win a seven-night stay at the Wyndham Grand Desert in Las Vegas.

"I will have type 1 diabetes for the rest of my life unless they find a cure," Ryan said. "I get frustrated . . . and then I feel really yucky and horrible. I don't like having juvenile diabetes because it affects my body and it makes me feel lonely because nobody really knows how it makes me feel."

For every $10 increment given to the team, dubbed Ryan's Troopers, donors will receive a chance to win the trip. A $100 gift earns the donor 10 opportunities to pack their bags for Vegas.

The deadline to donate to Ryan and his team is Oct. 24. The Pruitts plan on drawing the winner's name on Oct. 25, and the winner does not need to be present to win.

To make a donation, donors can go online to walk.jrdf.org. Under "Donate to a Walker," enter Ryan Pruitt and select Arizona.

"The Pruitt family has been a strong supporter and a true asset of the Desert Southwest Chapter for a number of years," said Becky Jackson, executive director of the Desert Southwest Chapter of JDRF.

"Not only have the Pruitts raised nearly $30,000 through their family walk team in the past six years, but the family also volunteers for the chapter's outreach program as a mentor family, providing much-needed support to families who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes."

This is the seventh year the Pruitts have participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Ryan, who tests his blood sugar with a prick to the finger eight to 10 times each day, says he's determined to help find a cure for diabetes so that other kids like him can live a normal life and not have to cart around injections and blood sugar tests. He envisions a time when he and other kids like him can live without worrying about sugar levels.

For more information about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, visit www.jdrf.org