Maylee's Mission

Our story begins the evening of November 11th, 2022. It was that evening that an at-home blood glucose meter changed the trajectory of Maylee’s life forever at the young age of 10 years old. After experiencing many symptoms that aligned with the possibility of Type 1 Diabetes, Maylee’s mom tested her blood sugar fully expecting the result to be normal. Instead the meter read, “WARNING - EXTREME HIGH GLUCOSE - ABOVE 600mg”. It was at that moment that Maylee’s parents knew something was very wrong and they headed straight to the nearest emergency room. Maylee was taken back immediately to have her blood sugar tested again. Her blood sugar was a whopping 864mg. It was a true miracle Maylee was still conscious. Soon later she was transported to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she would spend the next three days in the intensive care unit, learning alongside her parents, how she would have to spend the rest of her life taking insulin and monitoring her blood sugar.

Follow Maylee's Journey Here:

www.facebook.com/diaryt1dmom

Immediately following Maylee’s diagnosis, it became evident that she was not the same happy, bubbly energetic little girl she once was. The feeling of helplessness took over the entire family as it seemed nothing would help Maylee to feel confident and happy again. At 10 years old, she faced the reality that her life was reliant upon the use of insulin, pokes and prods EVERY SINGLE DAY! It wasn’t until Maylee started watching you tube videos of service dogs, that she started to show a happier side. She would watch the videos and get the most sweet smile on her face. It wasn’t long before Maylee would start talking to her parents about diabetic alert dogs. Seeing the way this idea brightened up Maylee’s day, her parents began researching the pro’s and con’s of diabetic alert dogs. This led to them finding Bowen Elite Service Dogs, a service dog training company run by a family of a type one diabetic child. One thing quickly led to another and before they knew it, just 7 months after Maylee’s diagnosis, Maylee’s Mission began. Her MISSION was to get a diabetic alert dog! 

As the fundraising for Maylee’s Mission took off, Maylee and her family were beyond grateful for the support of their community. In just a few short weeks the family raised enough money to go under contract. In an awesome twist of events, Maylee’s wait for a service dog was GREATLY reduced as she was paired with a D.A.D. named Saint just one week after the family went under contract. Saint became Maylee’s Saint just 8 weeks later, while the family was still in the midst of fundraising. Amazingly, less than 4 months into their fundraising journey and just 2.5 weeks after Saint joined the family, they not only raised $31,950 to get Maylee a Diabetic Alert Dog, but they actually surpassed their goal! The family went from crying sad tears, to crying happy tears and Maylee went from a state of depression to the same bubbly energetic Maylee she was before diagnosis. 

Throughout this incredibly humbling experience, the family had talked about continuing Maylee’s Mission. Only the focus would be on spreading HOPE & AWARENESS One Donation at a Time! Maylee was excited by the idea of helping other children like her, feel the same hope and joy that she felt throughout her Mission to get a diabetic alert dog. By exceeding their fundraising goal, the idea of Maylee’s Mission was able to hit the ground running, immediately jumping in to helping other children with Type 1 Diabetes to feel whole again!

Maylee’s Mission is to bring hope and joy to other children and families impacted by Type 1 Diabetes, while simultaneously raising awareness about this very misunderstood disease. Through the use of fundraising, Maylee’s Mission will not only aim to bring smiles to other Type 1 Diabetics, but will also donate a portion of all funds raised to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, with HOPE that one day there will be a CURE!