Ashland family walks to cure type 1 diabetes

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ASHLAND —

Even after six years, the Wilsons can't let their guard down when its comes to diabetes.

"It's always lurking," Ashland mom Robin Wilson said. "The minute you become complacent, something can happen."

Like on June 19, when Wilson's son, Spencer, collapsed from a diabetic seizure as he sat down to breakfast.

"All I remember was feeling low (blood sugar), and that was it," Spencer wrote in a message. "I was very scared when I woke up because that has never happened before."

But it's not as if 14-year-old Spencer Wilson lets juvenile diabetes hold him back. He fills his days with hockey, lacrosse and golf, although his days are broken up by the nine blood sugar readings he has to take every day.

The Wilson family is again leading the charge in Ashland this year to raise money so they and other families one day won't have to live with the uncertainties and hardships of type 1 diabetes.

Every year since 2005, when Spencer Wilson was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the Wilson family has hit the streets of Boston in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's 3-mile Walk to Cure Diabetes.

This year's event is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hatch Shell in Boston. Registration starts at 10 a.m.

In 2005 and 2006, the Wilsons mainly walked with family and friends, but they stepped up the effort in 2007.

"In 2005 and 2006, we raised $18,000 alone," Robin Wilson said. Seeing their small group - Team Spencer - raise some big money to help research the disease motivated them to recruit more people.

The group, renamed Team Ashland in 2007, has since raised about $60,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 2008, Team Ashland's 126 volunteers raised $28,000, Wilson said.

The Wilsons have also been involved with other efforts, such as the Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes at Ashland Middle School this summer. Spencer and two of his classmates - Megan Mazzie and Hannah Connors, who also have type 1 diabetes and are participating in Saturday's walk - talked to students about the disease.

The Cure Diabetes event raised $1,450, with 10 percent going to the school's wellness program, Robin Wilson said.

Team Ashland has raised $8,000 for this year's walk, she said, but many walkers collect money beforehand and bring checks on the day of the event.

Having a child with type 1 diabetes can be overwhelming at times, Wilson said, but thinking about that day in June when Spencer was rushed to the hospital makes the walk all the more important.

"All I kept thinking in my head was, 'Is this it?' " she said. "There are no guarantees with diabetes. That's the reality. This is what we are fighting for. This is why we want a cure."

To join or donate to Team Ashland, go to walk.jdrf.org and search for Team Ashland. You can also contact Robin Wilson for more information at robinwilson814@verizon.net.

(Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-626-4429 or khatch@cnc.com.)