Steven Siciliano, Michael Bevilacqua, Rick Bevilacqua & Michael Firicano are running this year’s Boston Marathon for Team Joslin (Joslin Diabetes Center), on behalf of David Gomes and in memory of Frankie Vilar.
For more details on David and Frankie’s story and to make a donation please visit: http://events.joslin.org/bostonmarathon/pfp/?ID=ss0003.
Your donation and support will make a difference in working towards Joslin’s goal of finding a cure and conquering diabetes in all of it’s forms. “We are fundraising for this event because we believe so strongly in all the good things Joslin Diabetes Center does.”
Please read David and Frankie’s story below:
David’s Story:
Just about everyone will be touched with diabetes in some way during their lifetime, whether it is themselves, a family member or friend. I have had diabetes since my first birthday. Besides the care that my parents gave me, the Joslin has given me exceptional care throughout the years that has helped me to live with the ups and downs of this disease especially through these formative years of adolescence. If I were to calculate how many shots and finger sticks that I have had already it would be a minimum of 32,000 shots and 40,000 finger sticks. Needless to say, these are only minor challenges that come along with this disease. Now at age 19, my recent challenges have been trying to keep the number of seizures or low blood sugars to a minimum if none at all now that I am away at college. My goal is to help raise money to support the Joslin who has supported me for all these years and to help them find a cure so one day babies, children, teenagers, and adults will have hope for a world without diabetes.
Frankie’s Story (As told by his brother Al):
My brother was a great guy who was always there for the kids cheering them on and encouraging them. My brother had battled diabetesfor most of his adult life. He was diagnosed with it when he was about 30 years old and up until this year had taken Micronase Pills for the diabetes and he needed to watch what he was eating. His eye sight started to weaken in his right eye and Frankie needed surgery on it a couple of years ago to control the bleeding behind his right eye. This past January he was admitted into Massachusetts General Hospital for Pneumonia and his blood sugar was well over 600 this is extremely high for a diabetic. Frankie stayed in the hospital for three days as he was treated for pneumonia and also to get his sugar back in check. It was determined that he would soon need to start taking insulin shots everyday for the diabetes. Although my brother did not have serious consequences with this disease, diabetes can (and usually will) wreak havoc on the people who have it. Usually eye sight is the first to go. I know that Frankie would have loved to someday hear that they had found a cure for this disease. Sadly, Frankie was killed in a tragic car accident several weeks ago, but his memory lives on in all of us who knew him.
