The Gale family fights to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
HAROLD, CA - Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease that affects millions of people around the world. Diabetes happens when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to properly control blood levels.
A local family from Harold has turned their son's disease into a crusade to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
Six-year-old Michael Gale's parents Shelly and Ranse were out of the country when they got the news that Michael may not be alive by the time they got home. The family got a crash course about the disease when they talked to their son's nurse.
Shelly Gale remembers asking, "'Are you almost at the point where you don't have to prick his finger anymore?' She looked at me kind of shocked and looked at me and said, 'Mom, this is something you and your husband will have to do. This is a life-long disease and there is not a cure for this. This is something Michael is always going to have for the rest of his life' and my heart sunk."
It turned out Michael had been living with diabetes for weeks, The symptoms went unnoticed.
"Michael was constantly just wanting to drink. He was very hungry. We just thought he is a growing boy. He was also constantly needing to go pee and we were potty training at the time," said Shelly.
Michael needs around the clock care. The little boy gets poked hundreds of times a week along with insulin injections to control his blood sugar levels. The disease is unpredictable, said Ranse Gale.
"For Michael, there is never two times that are the same consistent thing. He says his legs feel weak. That's the most frustrating part as a parent is that you never know," said Gale.
Every member of the family is involved in making sure that Michael is living his life to the fullest.
"We make sure we know how to test him when there are times our parents are not around to give him his medicine, just in case," said older brother, Ranse Gale Jr.
The family has taken their crusade to find a cure to Capitol Hill, along with involvement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
News10/KXTV
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