Gail, the year she was diagnosed with Diabetes
and donate the proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation. $5,000.00 was raised and a relationship with
the JDRF was established. I was asked to host the big JDRF
Gala that year and tell my sister’s story. Six months later, my
daughter Lexi was diagnosed with Type One diabetes at the
age of twelve. In her mind it was a death sentence because all
she ever heard of the disease was that her aunt died because
of it.
For the next four days after Lexi’s diagnosis, her mom and
I spent most of our time learning all we needed to know
about living with diabetes. I discovered how far the research
had come, with insulin pumps, pods, blood sugar monitors
and artificial kidneys being developed. But the most
revaluating thing for me to learn was that it was no longer
“Sugar Diabetes”. Because any carbohydrate turns into sugar
in the body, researchers discovered how a diabetic could eat
anything as long as there was a mathematical calculation on
determining how much insulin you would have to take to
maintain a proper blood sugar level.
This was not the disease I remembered as a child and I could
only think that my sister would be here today, had these
advances been in place when she was alive. Lexi’s life would
change, but with science, she would not have to face what my
sister did as long as she took care of herself and ate at the
right times and counted her carbohydrate intake. Having to
take a shot before every meal or snack, or when her blood
sugar is too high, has become the norm for her. Because she
is a competitive dancer, she has not wanted to use the insulin
pump so injections are all she knows right now. She takes up
to eight shots a day, and tests her blood sugars more than that.
When I turned 55 I decided to do another show for my
birthday and once again donate the proceeds to the JDRF, but
this time to honor my daughter. We attend the yearly walks
to raise money for research and hope that one day Lexi will
benefit from all of our efforts to cure this disease. The FDA
just approved the first artificial pancreas but that has not yet
been offered to Lexi. Hopefully one day soon. We live by the
motto, “Let’s turn Type One into Type None.”
Pictured here are images from 2015’s “Billy Flanigan 55 Stayin’
Alive on Center.” Through the course of the fun evening, over
50 performers took to the stage to showcase their talents. At
one point in the show, Billy’s daughter Lexi, a talented dancer
who, in 2014 along with a few friends, won a trip to NYC’s
Good Morning America to dance and meet Taylor Swift in
her “Shake it Off video contest.” Lexi performed a beautiful
interpretive dance.
The entire amazing and incredibly talented cast included:
Billy Flanigan, Sheila Ward, Sterling Lovett, David Kotary,
Patrick Jackman, Michael Bundy, Serena Cook, Melanie
Whipple, Shannah Winn, Claire Jesso, Ben Ptashinski, Rob
Stack, Joy Anderson, David Kelley, Matt Malone, Kevin
Brassard, Hillary Brooke, Allyson Fischer, Gerry Rose, Lucy
Schnallinger, Wendy Pyle, Lisa Scott, Keith Wilson, Sam
Sinns, Amy Terechenok, Susan Williams, Sean Walsh, Robby
Piggott, Katie Erickson, Lori DeFuso, Andrea Canny, Trudie
Petersen, Lexi Flanigan, Hannah Laird, Christina Sivrich, Bert
Rodriguez, Laura Compton, Michael Swickard, Steve Britton,
Tracy Scott, Laurie Groves, Gary Kwiatek, Sidney Mays, Shay
Henderson, Janel Hernandez, Emma Scott, Andrea Stack,
Tiffany Trilli, Dana Miller, Audrey Harden, Lauriel Marques
de Oliveira, Michelle Lindhall, Michelle Amato, Michelle
Maiholt and Juan Cantu. The musicians were Carol Stein,
Barry Smith, Randy Morris, and Linwood.
The 2015 show raised over $5,000 for JDRF and plans are
already underway for the next installment for 2020. Billy
hopes that by the next event, his birthday show will be to
celebrate Lexi’s freedom from living a life of injections and
counting carbs.
Please support the JDRF and any business that does.
NOVEMBER 2016
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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