Kate Walters Photography: Wyatt's Warriors - 2014 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

After spending several hours last weekend documenting and participating in an event for our dear friends, my mother-in-law summed up our time with these enthusiastic words: "It is impossible not to love the Love Family!" They embody warmth, generosity, compassion, and (obviously) love.

Wyatt, Jennifer, Tilly, and Scott

Wyatt Love was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at only 4 years of age. His parents (both physicians) remembered the agonizing diagnosis that no parent ever wants to hear.

"I recall standing in the lab with a urine specimen at ABC Pediatrics at midnight on February 21st, 2010. As the results flashed in front of me, I felt sad, angry, and hopeless. It took a while for me to slowly muster the strength to call Jennifer and tell her exactly what she didn't want to hear. Jennifer recalls Wyatt crying in my arms as we sat on the floor of the pediatric intensive care unit. Wyatt was pleading with us, stating they had already poked him, checked his blood sugar, and given him shots and that he didn't need to do it again and wanted to go home. It was difficult explaining to our 4 year old that this disease and its treatments were never going away. Over the following years we have struggled with Wyatt's feelings of isolation, frustration, and anger, not to mention our own feelings. We still feel hopeless on days he is sick and we fight to keep him out of the hospital. We feel frustrated and guilty when he struggles to compete at his normal athletic intensity in soccer or swimming simply because his blood sugar is 400 or 40. Panic rises when we oversleep our 2am or 4am alarms, and we pray as we walk up the stairs that he is still breathing and not seizing. And then there is the forever-looming thought and very real possibility of life threatening complications if we don't keep his diabetes under control throughout his life."-Scott

Despite these unjust obstacles, you will not hear Wyatt complain. He is gifted and determined athletically, focused and diligent in the classroom, and wise beyond his years. He also has a great sense of humor and perspective on life. Wyatt knows how to make others feel better and he has a tender and compassionate heart. This fall he was able to encourage a younger student at his school who has also been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He shared with her that having T1D was kind of like being a superhero. He says that he is always connected to his machine (insulin pump) and this machine injects him with superpowers to allow him to do (or at least try) anything. Perhaps the best testimony to Wyatt's incredible character though are the countless friends that gravitate to him.

This was the third year for Wyatt's Warriors to walk in the JDRF event, and each year Wyatt seems to have the biggest group of supporters. He had family members fly in from California, Chicago and Florida. Nearly every teacher or coach he's had thus far showed up to support him. It seems that also every administrator from his lower school also attended to walk with and encourage Wyatt. I could barely fit the 100+ people in the frame for our large group photo this year!

Wyatt commissioned my husband to create a design for this year's shirt. He wanted it to incorporate the T1D and also a representation for his name. Can you spot them? Wyatt was proud to show off the design to his family and friends!