- Sally Hara with the JDRF Northwest cycling group; summer training ride
In 2010 I (Sally Hara) completed the 109 mile el Tour de Tucson to help raise money to find a cure for diabetes. This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, and I am asking for your support so I may do it again this November. After a bike crash in July sidelined me with a shoulder injury for 6 weeks, I wasn?t sure if I would be able to participate this year. However, I?m back on my bike putting in some good training miles!
Not many people are fortunate enough to be able to combine their professional and personal passions. I count myself among the lucky few. I have been a Diabetes Educator for over 15 years, and am also a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. I love my job! The science of it fascinates me, but it?s the patients that inspire me as they demonstrate the resilience and innovation it takes to live with a chronic disease like diabetes. Being an athlete with diabetes presents even greater challenges? which is why I watch with amazement and delight as they juggle many obstacles so they can do the activities they love to do. These are truly some of my heroes. They inspire me to no end!
El Tour deTuscon start line 2011
As an avid bicyclist, I love getting on my bike and riding long distances, especially in the company of great people. So I feel privileged to have spent the past 2-1/2 years training with a local group of cyclists who have or are close to someone who has type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes). Medically, I know the challenges of diabetes, but because this community of cyclists and their families are now my good friends, I have gained insights into the day to day personal challenges of people with diabetes and those around them. I hear my friends talk about being found by their child when passed out, crashing their bike, or having an ambulance whisk them away from work when blood sugars are erratic. Last year I shared a hotel room with a mother and her 13 year old daughter who has type 1 diabetes; I watched the mother diligently check her child?s blood sugar throughout the night and administer insulin to her sleeping child. Her husband was in the room next door with their other 3 children? including a young son who also has diabetes. I watched the young teen do a marvelous job of managing her diabetes, taking on more responsibility than most teens ever think about. And this young woman and her mother also took on the task of training for, and riding a 60 mile bike ride to help raise money to find a cure for her disease. They trained with our cycling group ? a big supportive community.
Finish Line 2011
I am privileged to have been adopted by such an amazing community of people, and now have an opportunity to give back to them by raising money to help find a cure for diabetes.
Thank you!
~Sally Hara
Please consider sponsoring Sally Hara on this 100+ mile bicycle ride as a means of donating to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s search for a cure for type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. Click here to make an on-line donation.
