Beta Cell

Amanda Bar was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 2 years old. Like many young people with T1D, she struggled with wanting to fit in with her friends who didn’t have diabetes. A few years ago she passed out while driving and realized not feeling her low blood sugars was too dangerous to ignore and invested in a diabetic alert dog, who helped her train for the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon.

Doris Gilbert first learned about type 1 diabetes when her daughter Laurie was diagnosed in 1974. Years later, after looking at the blood work from her own physical, Doris realized she had diabetes too. Not letting that stop her, Doris signed up for nursing school at age 60, climbed Mount Whitney at 68, went dog mushing in Alaska at 70, and continues to lead an active and healthy life with T1D today.