New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Brenda Novak's annual online auction for diabetes research is going live May 1st. Brenda’s youngest son, Thad, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five. After Thad’s diagnosis, Brenda wanted to do anything possible to give victims of the disease a better chance at a healthy life, and so her fundraising work began. Brenda has raised a cumulative total of more than $1.3 million for diabetes research—and she’s gearing up to raise more.
This year (among many other things) she has such exciting auction items as tickets to American Idol, lunch with world famous authors like Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry and Suzanne Brockmann, a stay in Nora Roberts' Inn and autographed copies of books from everyone's favorite authors (Ken Follett, Sandra Brown, Michael Connelly, etc.), many of which are advanced reading copies and can't be purchased elsewhere until release date.
To find out more about the auction, you can visit the auction site and sign up to get news and notices - as well as a reminder when it does go live, I'm sure.
I had a chance to interview Brenda about her family and diabetes.
1) How did you start raising awareness of diabetes and funds for research?
Ten years ago, when my youngest son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I wanted to do some fundraising for research, to help him and everyone else in the same situation. I just didn’t how to go about it—or where I’d find the time. I had five kids at home and some very tight book deadlines (Ha! Sounds like now—except that some of the kids have moved out to go to college). Then I attended a silent auction at a local elementary school and realized that I could do a similar event on my Web site, where I could invite the people who visit me there to join the effort. That was when Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research was born. The first year, we raised only $34,000, but it was enough to tell me the idea had merit. I kept working and the next year the managed to double the amount raised. The same went for the next year. I feel like this is a bit of a snowball--I just keep pushing and pushing and hoping to grow it bigger each year.
2) What has been the hardest thing for you to deal with in regards to your son's diabetes?
This is a tough question. A lot of things went through my mind when I first read it. I thought of the daily poking to draw blood (5 - 8 times) to get glucose readings. I thought of how I cringe every time he eats something that's carb heavy. But I'd have to say that the absolute toughest part of having a child with diabetes is the constant worry. I can't pass one day, one night, one minute without fearing that his current glucose level is damaging his body. That's a terrible feeling. It often hits worse at night because there are no distractions. Blood sugar can change so quickly--and have dire consequences whether he's too high or too low. So the lost sleep would be hardest for me. He would have a different answer. ;-)
3) What tips do you have for parents who have recently found out they have a child with diabetes?
Learning to live with diabetes is possible. It's not easy, but it's possible. I'd suggest they take one day at a time and train their child from the beginning to eat the right foods. I wasn't as militant about this as I probably should have been, and now it's too late to correct that mistake. My son already has established his eating patterns and his attitudes about what he will or won't do to kowtow to his disease.
4) What is something that parents may overlook in regards to childhood diabetes?
Do you mean as far as symptoms? The symptoms can be difficult to catch, because parents aren't always aware of when their children are drinking or urinating, especially if that child is a little older and guards his/her privacy. And those are the two biggest factors in realizing that something may be wrong (along with weight loss, if it has gone on for a while). A person suffering from diabetes who has not been diagnosed urinates and drinks often, far more often than normal people.
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