A year and a half ago, my brother was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. With a disease like diabetes, it’s easy to only see the negative effects it has on a family. My family chooses to see things differently. The past 18 months have been crazy difficult and challenging. But more than that, it’s been a year full of hope, love, faith, and encouragement. Will has taught me so much, and he is one of my greatest inspirations.

Wait a minute.

That was probably one of the most cliché sentences that I could have written. Before you continue to scan this blog post, thinking that I was forced to write it a certain way, with certain emotional and meaningful sentences that have been so overused they no longer are meaningful, let me explain.

You might have read Will’s story already, detailing the day he was diagnosed. But let me give you a quick synopsis of my side of the story. I was unaware that Will was going to the doctor for testing, I’m not sure if my parents had told me and I just forgot, or if they didn’t want to worry me and didn’t tell me. So I was 18 and sitting in statistics when I check my phone (spare me the lecture) and I saw a message from my mom that said “Call me as soon as you can!!” Well I had five minutes until lunch so I sat there panicking, expecting the worst, until the bell rang, then proceeded to run to the hallway and call my mom. My dad answers the phone and broke the news to me, Will has type 1 diabetes. At this point in time I didn’t know the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, or really anything about the disease at all. So, as hundreds of students file past me on the staircase, I started to cry, knowing nothing more than that my little brother had an incurable disease. Within the next hour I was at the hospital and I watched as our lives began to be changed by type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes is vicious. It demands attention. But Will won’t let diabetes define him, and that is the biggest victory of all. From day one, Will has been determined to be more than a diabetic. His story is not a sad story, and our family is not suffering. You see, Will wants to prevent other children with type 1 diabetes from having a sad story. He looks past his/our struggles, and understands that he has the means to control his disease. It might be tiring, it might be stressful, but he has the support both emotionally and financially to stay on top of this disease. But that’s not enough for him. Knowing how taxing diabetes can be, Will and my mom were determined to help other families with type 1 diabetes breathe a little easier.

With that goal in mind, Will’s Way was born. Will’s Way strives to provide financial support to families with diabetic kids. Because staying on top of Will’s diabetes isn’t enough for our family. No one should have to worry about not having enough money to provide medical support for their child.

So let me repeat myself. Will has taught me so much, and is one of my greatest inspirations. Because at the age of 14, he is looking past his own medical problems, and reaching out to those who desperately need the help. His selflessness is inspirational.

Please take the time to learn a little bit more about Will’s Way and its mission. If you have the means, I ask that you consider donating, and giving hope to families with diabetic children and financial burdens.