The Sanford Project

Who You’ll Help

Dr. Fred Lovrien

Meet Fred, a physician and diabetic sufferer.  When he was diagnosed at age 12, his mother wept bitter tears for the son whose life would most likely be cut short, for at that time the life expectancy for diabetics was age 40.  In those years, life for a diabetic was especially difficult and painful for syringes were made of steel and were not very sharp so injections were agonizing, and they had to be constantly sterilized.  Insulin was primitive and Fred had a reaction to it, so he needed to go to a specialist.  In fact, that specialist who helped him through the struggle was his inspiration to become an endocrinologist, a physician who treats diabetics. 
 
Fred has personally experienced the monumental medical advancements for diabetics, from home testing of blood sugar, to improvements in the insulin, itself, to the miracle of insulin pumps, all of which have vastly improved the quality of life for diabetics.  But the reality is that diabetics still live with constant life-threatening complications of their disease.
 
Fred has treated patients whose diabetes lead to blindness or the amputation of limbs and knows he may face those eventualities himself.  “We think of cancer patients as enduring pain,” Fred says calmly, “but very few people are aware of the excruciating pain diabetics undergo as they lose their feet or their legs or their eyes.  Their suffering is immeasurable.”  He adds with a touch of irony, “Eventually, I, myself, may be one of those people, even though I’ve taken scrupulous care of myself.  My patients and I have been one in our walk together, and together we have hope through the Sanford Project.  We hope many will be moved to lend their support to find a cure for this dreadful disease.”


Meet Nadia, Age 13 – Diagnosed at age 10, she wistfully remembers her normal life before diabetes.  Beautiful, winsome, athletic, engaging; a young lady teetering on the brink of womanhood who shyly flashes a million-dollar smile.  She’s friendly to all.  She’s the one people turn to.  Everyone loves her. 
 
At the time in her life when Nadia naturally wants to pull away, Erin, her mother, fights the urge to be overly-protective, because the consequences of a lack of vigilance are devastating.  If Nadia oversleeps, Erin fears the worst, that her precious daughter might be in a diabetic coma.  “Have you checked your blood sugar?” is the ever-present question which Erin wants to ask and Nadia hates to answer.
 
Nadia wants people to see her and not her diabetes.  She wants to dream the same dreams as you and I and have them come true. But she may not be able to, because diabetics have limitations to their dreams.  That’s why Nadia is so excited about the Sanford Project and the possibility of a cure.  Your donation can give her back all her dreams.
 



Meet Adam, happy and energetic, and an avid participant in soccer and baseball, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 23 months. While he was learning to walk and talk his parents were learning to manage his disease.
 
“At first, my mind would race with fears about Adam’s future,” said Jon, Adam’s dad. “What will happen when he’s 18 and goes off to college and we can’t be there all the time? What happens when he’s out of college, before he’s married, and he’s on his own?  A lot of fears raced through our minds, but then we came back to reality and realized we need to take it one day at a time, we need to do the best job of teaching him what he needs to do to keep himself healthy.  But before we get to those time frames in his future we hope and pray there’s a cure. The Sanford Projects gives us hope that there will be an answer to our prayers.”
 
Through your support of the Sanford Project you’ll help keep Adam on the field kicking soccer balls and scoring goals, fielding grounders and hitting homeruns. Most importantly he’ll be able to focus on his future.