CHASE THE CURE, INC

Chase Oyenarte’s life changed forever on January 24, 2011, when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at just six years old. That date marked the moment that Chase became a part of a statistic that no parent wants for their child. He became one of the 40,000 Americans diagnosed annually with T1D, a condition that requires constant vigilance, medication, monitors, and needles each day to maintain.

Currently, there is no known cure for T1D, an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas is unable to produce insulin — a hormone that aids the body in storage and production of glucose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells and builds up in the bloodstream.” T1D onset is determined mostly by genetic and environmental factors and is not impacted by diet. It is a daily balance of counting carbs, watching sugar intake, measuring insulin and managing the factors that can affect one’s sugar levels including stress, puberty, and physical activity.

Bobby and Kelly Oyenarte, who felt helpless in their son’s diagnoses, were inspired to create Chase the Cure to support Breakthrough T1D’s mission. Chase the Cure’s mission intersected with Breakthrough T1D’s mission: to fund innovative research, provide support to the T1D community, and advocate to the government for action to end T1D.