CALEDONIA, Minn. -- Joey Haverty is an active 12-year-old boy who likes to play baseball, golf and swim, but he also has to take time out to monitor his blood-sugar levels.
Joey has juvenile diabetes.
Joey, who attends Caledonia Middle School, was just 22 months old when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. His mom, Barb Haverty, was attending nursing school at the time, and when discussion turned to the signs and symptoms of diabetes, the instructor described Joey, recalled his father, John.
"He was thirsty all the time and peeing non-stop," John said. "Something didn't seem right."
The Havertys had Joey tested and his blood-sugar levels were "off the charts," John said.
The diagnosis has resulted in the family becoming educated about the disease and in a number of serious scares that include several seizures.
"We've been awakened by Joey screaming in bed. That's the way seizures are," John said.
"Every day we are always thinking about Joe. We are thinking something could happen."
Joey keeps his testing supplies with him at all times -- stored in a camouflage bag --and he checks his blood-sugar levels about 10 times a day, including during school and while having fun in the summer.
He received a insulin pump a few years ago that has helped control his levels, but it still is far from perfect.
Joey has had to learn how to read his body and respond to its needs.
When he shakes, blood sugar levels are low. When he's thirsty and has to use the restroom often, they are high.
"I can usually tell," Joey said.
Joey and his father will be on the lead motorcycle July 11 during the Thunder Ride to Cure Diabetes, a motorcycle ride that John started in 2003 to raise funds for families who can't afford the supplies needed for their children's diabetic treatments.
Last year, the ride raised $100,000, and John is hoping for similar numbers this year. The six-year total has reached $320,000.
"There is such a need, and it wasn't being met here," John said. "That is where Thunder Ride steps in."
If you go
WHAT: Thunder Ride to Cure Diabetes
WHEN: Registration is at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 11
WHERE: Ride leaves La Crosse Area Harley Davidson at 11:30 a.m. with a celebration at the South Side Oktoberfest grounds from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.
COST: $25
information: Call (608) 783-6112 or visit www.thunder ride.org To see more of the La Crosse Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lacrossetribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, La Crosse Tribune, Wis. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.