A year and a half ago I lost a close friend of 30 years to the ravaging disease of Type 1 Diabetes. I had met Mike and his wife, Jan, while bicycling through the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Mike had learned of his diagnosis 18 years earlier and while he stayed active, he never truly controlled his diabetes. He passed away too young, at the age of 55. For over a decade Mike had gotten involved and was in charge of the Tour de Cure bike ride in Boulder, Colorado which raises millions of dollars for diabetes research.

Upon his death, his wife sent me his remaining Tour de Cure bike jerseys. The significance of these jerseys cannot be overstated.  There were orange jerseys, which any rider can wear, and there were red jerseys, which only people with diabetes wear. Over the last three years, two of my best friends had children that were diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. I passed on the Red Rider jerseys to both of the teens and before you knew it, they, their fathers, and I were signed up for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) ride this summer which is a 100 mile ride in La Crosse, WI.

The JDRF ride requires the riders to raise at least $2000 in donations to participate.  If diabetes has touched your life or you would like to contribute to this cause then please go to my JDRF site to make a donation https://bit.ly/2VAHBiM

The excitement for the ride is building as is our fitness!  Whether you choose to donate or not, I have a recipe for you:

• find something negative in your life
• mix in a little passion
• a dash of hard work
• a lot of teamwork

If you combine these ingredients, I promise you will create a positive outcome!

Thank you and God Bless,

Dr. Dan