Savannah Smoley is a teen with a dream. She says, “I want to find a cure for all those living with what I deal with on a daily/hourly basis, and also to increase the scientific education on T1D to help prevent others from ever getting the disease.” It was already personal to her when her little cousin was diagnosed 10 years ago, and today she is even more determined to make her dream come true. So, Savannah brought her family together to form a team, Steppin’ for Smoles, for the Walk to Cure Diabetes.
Savannah was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 15 in 2010. With so many changes and challenges already prevalent in the teenage years, the news was a tough blow. But Savannah did not take it sitting down and neither did her family. “To me, there is nothing as touching as having all my friends and family walk with me to help fight my hardest life battle,” she says. Their impressive fundraising efforts are inspired by Savannah’s dream for a cure for herself, her cousin and everyone else who lives with T1D. “I believe every step and every dollar brings us that much closer to a cure. And for that, I would walk 100 miles a day,” she says smiling.
What is a hero? Savannah answers, “I consider those working daily on finding a cure and advancing medications to be heroes. Most importantly to me, my friends and family are heroes for giving up at least one entire day a year to walk for, and with, me.”
