I was speaking to another mother of a child with D today about Walk of Hope. I had invited her daughter to come out and walk as well as to be included in my Faces of Hope presentation. I didn't even ask for a donation because I knew they participated in a JDRF walk.
She said she had never heard of The Iacocca Foundation. I wasn't surprised. I'm sure plenty of people haven't. So, I gave her the whole spiel I usually do. It was founded by Lee Iacocca whose wife died at the age of 57 from complications brought on by Type 1 diabetes, and so on and so forth.

Then, she asked, "So does all of the money from The Iacocca Foundation go just to the children too?"

Huh?

I think I just stood there a second. I didn't really know what to say.

I said, "Well, it goes to research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes."

Then she said, "I know that all of JDRF's money goes to the kids. And, the ADA usually gives their money to adults."

I said, "Well, the money given to The Iacocca Foundation goes to research to find a cure for kids and adults with Type 1 diabetes."

I didn't know what else to say. She said, "That's nice." And, that was the end of our conversation.

As I was walking to my car I was thinking, "All of the money goes to the kids? What does that mean?"

Then, I remembered a comment I had read on tudiabetes by someone (an adult with Type 1) who said she went to a local JDRF meeting and was told that it was just for the parents of kids with Type 1. She was saying that she didn't support JDRF because all they care about is the children with Type 1 and their parents. At the time I didn't think much of it.

But, now, I'm just befuddled. How can the money just go to kids? If they find a cure are they only going to let the kids have access to it? Do they think that once someone reaches adulthood their D just disappears? Do they think only kids develop Type 1?

I've never thought of Type 1 as a kid's disease. Kids grow up to be adults, adults with Type 1 diabetes. It would be great if they outgrew it, but they don't.

There is enough division between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Do we really need to break Type 1 into sub-categories?

Sorry, the question just blew my mind. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on what she said.