GREENFIELD, Ind. — More than 300,000 children are currently living with Type 1 diabetes, according to the CDC. It’s something that can be hard to navigate, especially at a young age.
FOX59/CBS4 spoke with a young boy from Greenfield living with Type 1 diabetes to see firsthand what he’s doing to make a difference in his health journey.
“I am really proud,” six-year-old Micah Marlowe said.
Micah is selling his homemade Micah’s Lemonade to the community to help him navigate his Type 1 diabetes.
“Before his diagnosis, his blood sugar levels were so high that he was starting to pass out, about to go into a coma,” said Christopher and Corrie Marlowe, Micah’s parents.
Micah’s family found out he had Type 1 diabetes when he was just 2.5 years old.
“I have a very vivid memory of literally carrying him, running through the employee parking lot of the hospital rushing… Going to the emergency room,” his dad said.
And the last few years have been quite scary for Micah’s family.
“It’s a really hard thing for a parent to have to relive a trauma of almost losing your child constantly and it’s more at the front of our minds than I would like to admit,” his mom said.
And in his case, Micah needs to be looked after 24/7.
“We have had situations where you are really, really exhausted and tired and you don’t hear the alarms, you sleep through it and you wake up and it’s an emergency situation,” his dad said.
Then came the idea of getting a service dog. His parents said the dog would be able to help Micah in many ways and respond quickly to his needs, faster than some of the technology used right now.
“The dog can actually identify even more efficiently than the application, CGM, or his continuous glucose monitor, that measures his blood sugar levels,” they said. “The dogs can sniff and smell when he is starting to go low or high. They can give indicators before the technology even knows.”
Micah’s service dog would be able to wake him up at any time of the night and help him in case of an emergency.
“It would be really good peace of mind for our family,” his mom said. “His safety is the priority, so that would be huge for us.”
In his first year of his lemonade stand along with his online fundraiser, Micah raised $1000 but he still needs a lot more to turn his dream of owning a service dog into a reality.
“We are talking for him like $25,000 when it’s all said and done to have the dog trained, bought, and taken care of for 14 months,” his mom said. “We would get that dog at 14 months old.”
His parents say Micah is already a true salesman, working hard to make this happen. Micah even takes his business on the go, pulling a giant wagon around his neighborhood with his little sister to raise more money.
“When you move the lemonade, you get more customers because you are going up house to house,” he said.
Not only that, but Micah tries to keep his lemonade stand operating year-round.
“He is a hard worker,” his mom said. “[I admire] his perseverance with him asking about [selling his lemonade] even during the winter time. ‘Can I set up my lemonade stand?’ ‘No buddy, nobody is going to come to it during the winter.’ His enthusiasm is endearing.”
Micah now has a whole summer ahead to invite people to enjoy Micah’s Lemonade. To support Micah and his lemonade stand, click here.
