for the News-Tribune

FORT ASHBY — A Fort Ashby teen who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year ago has decided to give back some of the help and support she has received.
“I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in November of 2008 at the age of 13,” Allie Hott explains. “My family, friends, physicians and school have been very supportive of me and I want to raise money to help other juvenile diabetic patients and to find a cure for diabetes.”
Hott and her family are therefore planning a walk-a-thon on Sept. 27 to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through research.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, and can be fatal. It causes the person’s pancreas to stop producing insulin, a hormone that enables the body to get energy from food. Until a cure is found, people with Type 1 diabetes have to test their blood sugar level and give themselves insulin injections multiple times a day, or use an insulin pump every day of their lives.
Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent the eventual and devastating complications, including kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and possible amputation.
As many as 3 million Americans are believed to have Type 1 diabetes. In the United States, a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds.
By sponsoring Allie’s Walk for a Cure, the Fort Ashby teen hopes to help those who are searching for a cure for the devastating disease.
Allie’s Walk for a Cure will be held at the Mineral County Fairgrounds in Fort Ashby and will get underway at 2 p.m. Registration starts at 1 p.m.
Those wishing to walk who pre-register by Monday, Sept. 7, will receive a free t-shirt. Pre-registration fees are $15 for an individual or $50 for a team of four. After Sept. 7, registration fees will be $20 for an individual.
The planners are also seeking individual and/or corporate sponsors at one of the following levels of giving: Up to $50: participating sponsor;  $50-$99: bronze level sponsor; $100-$199: silver level sponsor; and $200 or more: gold level sponsor.
For further information, or to register for the walk, call Sharon Hott at 304-298-3334 or email her at dsahott1@frontiernet.net; or call Rebonica Davis at 304-822-8100 or email her at rebonica@yahoo.com.