Leah Cundiff, 11 raising awareness about Type I Diabetes
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
CUNDIFF, from Page 1
the moneys raised will be donated
to JDRF. Twenty percent of retail
sales on October 13 will be do-
nated to JDRF as well. Refresh-
ments will be served.
Spa owner Jana Gallagher-Sli-
wecki said she wanted to bring
more awareness to Type 1 Dia-
betes.
“I wanted to do something to
support research and finding a
cure,” Gallagher-Sliwecki said.
The Cundiff family is walking
later this month in a JDRF walk in
Camden County.
“October is Breast Cancer
Awareness Month. We do con-
tribute to that. This time, with
Leah she is a client of mine. So is
her mother. I know her grand-
mother. They are like family to
me. I really wanted to do some-
thing to support Leah and her walk
later this month,” Gallagher-Sli-
wecki said.
Cundiff was diagnosed about 18
months ago, her mother Heather
Cundiff told The Gazette.
“I was getting very dehydrated.
I was getting sick,” Leah Cundiff
said.
“I thought she was having a
growth spurt. She was looking
super thin and tall to me. The
changes in her body made her that
way,” Heather Cundiff said.
She added that Leah would
vomit but then would be “super
hungry.”
“She couldn’t get enough
water,” Heather Cundiff said.
Heather Cundiff said she started
suspecting something was wrong
so she turned to the internet.
“I started Googling things —
putting the symptoms in. We went
to the family doctor … then took
her to the ER,” Heather Cundiff
said.
At the ER, Leah was found to be
in Diabetic Ketoacidosis. She then
spent a week in Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia (CHOP).
“She is new onset type 1. Type 1
is an autoimmune disease,”
Heather Cundiff said.
She said that Leah is on insulin
and will be for the foreseeable fu-
ture. Leah wears a pump that mon-
itors her levels and reports back to
Leah and her mother through smart
devices.
Now carrying
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THG/Gina Rullo. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Leah Cundiff (left) and her mom, Heather at The Gazette offices.
CHOP was an educational expe-
rience for the whole family.
Leah Cundiff said “I learned that
like you shouldn’t ever worry, it is
just a number” while at CHOP.
“Their education program is out
of this world. They took my hus-
band and I to a ‘Diabetes Boot
Camp.’” Heather Cundiff said.
See JDRF, Page 8
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