“I would give anything to end the suffering caused by Type 1 Diabetes. I gave my all to climb the height of Mt. Everest in 36 hours and now I am hiking 3 marathons in 3 days to inspire others to join me in the fight to end the suffering of millions of Type 1 Diabetics.” -Amy Sampen
“I am hiking 3 marathons in 3 days to raise awareness of the suffering caused by Type 1 Diabetes. Reversal of this disease is real thanks to the research and efforts of Dr. Denise Faustman. I need your help to bring an end to this disease.”
-Amy Sampen
Type 1 Diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin hormone production by the pancreas. Children and adults alike living with the disease must measure their blood sugar multiple times a day and inject their bodies with insulin to prevent blood sugar from fluctuating too high. Presently, the very drug that will keep a Type 1 Diabetic alive (insulin) is also the very drug that will kill them if injected in too high or too low doses.
The public health burden of Type 1 Diabetes is enormous. Over 1.45 million Americans suffer daily with this disease. Each year another 64,000 are diagnosed and its onset and progression does not discriminate against age, race, or gender.
I called the Pediatrician’s office early that morning to discuss and explain my concerns. He was only 5 years old and had been manifesting signs of Type 1 Diabetes; frequent urination and extreme, unquenchable thirst. It was a Saturday morning, game day! With gear in tow, he drove off with his dad and brothers for his T-ball game while I drove off towing a heavy heart and a cup of his urine to be tested at the Pediatrician’s office.
Hi, I’m Amy Sampen, Co-Founder of Strikeout Type 1 Diabetes (KT1D). My passion for this cause is buried in the very depths of my soul. I have lived with this dreaded disease, this relentless monster, this silent-assassin for over 20 years, as two of my three sons suffer from Type 1 Diabetes.
Since the discovery of Insulin nearly 100 years ago, Dr. Denise Faustman at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has made the Revolutionary Discovery that the BCG Vaccine (Tuberculosis Vaccine) Reverses Type 1 Diabetes.
Dr. Faustman and the Faustman Lab are privately funded and are not manipulated by big pharma and corporate boardrooms. Amy Sampen has made it her mission and thus KT1D’s mission to raise funds for and support the valiant efforts of Dr. Faustman. It is Amy’s dream to see all Type 1 Diabetics set free from the shackles of this debilitating disease.
Still gallery from Type 1 Stories.
We set out to film the stories of some of our friends in the Type 1 community to show the human side of this terrible disease, and the hope for its reversal.
The response was so great that we ended up with more stories than we can tell in a single short film. As we agonized over whose story might not make it into the final film, we decided to change course. We simply must tell every story! Instead of releasing a single short film, we are going to release episodes few months until we can tell every story we captured.
Strike Out Type 1 Diabetes is a non-profit 501c3 Foundation.