Can YOU survive diabetes?

So, are you up for a challenge? 

My son Jacob was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes November 9, 2007, at the age of 3 years, 4 months.  Since then, there has not been a single day when Jacob did not require specific treatment and care to survive until tomorrow.  Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t kill immediately, but it also never takes a day off.  For Jacob, and for his family, it is a way of life.  

Now to the challenge:

Hold the sugar please

The Lancet, a British medical journal, published the results of a new global diabetes study by the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation. According to this new study, almost 350 MILLION people worldwide now have some form of diabetes. In the US alone, close to 25 million people are currently diagnosed as diabetic. In a separate report, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that diabetes killed more Americans in 2009 than AIDS and breast cancer combined. These are sobering statistics for the parent of a diabetic child. However, the reports also raise more questions than answers... what is diabetes? what does it do? how prevalent is it really? how do you get it?