“I was about six years old when my life changed completely. That was the day I found out Peter had type 1 diabetes.” A sibling’s outlook on his brother’s experience with diabetes.

To the ordinary people in our lives, this one’s for you.

At 4, she learned she had type 1 diabetes. At 12, she was diagnosed with Raynaud’s disease. Lauren was 16, her hair fell out in patches ̶ alopecia areata. At 18,she was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. At age 24, she was confirmed to have celiac disease.

About 25 percent of people with autoimmune diseases have a tendency to develop additional autoimmune diseases.

Did you know family members of people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have a 15 times greater risk of developing the disease themselves? 

As a person living with type 1, I feel so much gratitude toward all of the research participants who have allowed for the development of diabetes care and technologies that permit me to live a full and healthy life!

Life is a constant learning experience. We try something new. We get the results the universe gives us. And we adapt. It’s the field experiment that never ends. 

Your early 20s are often a time of major life change. But these life changes make it more important than ever to speak up if you think you may have Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) or another autoimmune disease.

Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t stop Michelle Peterson from a leading a fulfilling life with family and as director of communications and PR at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Two-year-old Henry Achilles and his mom, Shannon, jumped at the chance to do something different: help advance autoimmune disease research.