I WILL NOT BE A STATISTIC
Thursday, March 10, 2005
By: Michael Berry

I was told I would be nothing, not more than a number in the books of society. Not in this lifetime.

At 10 months old I was diagnosed with diabetes.  I was raised in nearly 24 foster homes and adoption was a difficult prospect.  In the early 1970's, no one wanted to deal with diabetes, a very misunderstood and mistreated illness at the time.
As I grew up not knowing who my next family would be, I learned to deal with diabetes and very often found myself educating my teachers, foster families and even sometimes my physicians about diabetes and the challenges it brought. I was still not given much hope of long term survival due to the potential damage my body may have suffered while a toddler under my parents care.
Long story short, I grew up, graduated high school, and entered the world not knowing what to expect on my own. What once came to me for free, I now needed to pay for- insulin, supplies and food. There were times I went days without insulin and food, and times I needed to beg my family for the few dollars to get the medical supplies I needed. There were even times I went to the emergency rooms just so I could get a bottle of insulin and a few syringes.
I was aimless in my life, until I met my wife, and somehow before even meeting her, got myseld together and got employment that offered insurance (something I knew nothing about just ten years prior).  Anyway, I had always dreamed of riding my bicycle across the country in an effort to raise monies so that people would never have to risk their well being to live with diabetes as I had as a young adult. This has been my dream since I was 14, and when I told my wife, she supported my dream and encouraged me to get involved in the local stuff first. Well, finally this year I decided on a whim, I'm going for it. So here I am, captain of Team Cure Riders, with a dream far greater than the one ride I will do this year, and the multiple rides I plan over the coming years. Ultimately, I plan to create a non-profit organization that will directly benefit those with diabetes who do not have the financial abiltity to care for themselves, and I plan to support raise the money by riding my bike- I guess you could say it will be a career change! My wife supports me 100% (in fact she is ready to learn all she can about bikes so she can captain the SAG vehicle in the future), and my kids are even getting involved already. That is why I ride and will continue to ride until my legs just will not spin another round.