Inspiring stories from inspiring people

The Fund A Cure program features LESLIE ROSEN and the RUETTGERS FAMILY with their daughter, Lucie. Each will share their personal story about life with type 1 diabetes.

Leslie Rosen: “Diabetes has not stopped me.”

The diagnosis came when she was just eight years old, and ever since, Leslie Rosen has fought to manage T1D – so that it wouldn’t manage her.

“Diabetes has not stopped me,” Leslie says. “Starting from the age of 11, I went to summer camp in California, culminating in a trip to Israel in high school. I went away to college. I lived in New York. I had a baby.” Of her son, now three years old, she says: “I had to have him through IVF, but thanks to the miracles of science and the research behind diabetes, I was able to have a healthy and successful pregnancy.”

As a JDRF Seattle Guild Board member, Leslie knows firsthand the power of community. “As someone who deals with T1D every day, it’s so nice to know the whole community is rallying behind you.”

The Ruettgers Family: Stoic, resilient and strong.

When Chris and Allie got the news, it felt to them like an altered reality. Their daughter Lucie, then just nine years old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As it does for countless others, the diagnosis left the family reeling.

“It’s very stressful to constantly have to keep your child alive,” Allie says. “It’s 24/7, and T1D is always in the background. It informs almost all the decisions we make.” But Chris and Allie work hard to make sure

T1D doesn’t stop Lucie from doing the things she wants to do. A great student, Lucie also plays tennis and lacrosse. “She’s an amazing young woman,” Allie says. “Stoic, resilient, and strong.”

Allie and Chris are immensely grateful for our JDRF community, and full of hope that the research we are supporting will one day lead to a cure.