My son, Harrison Tharpe, was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes on Friday, October 26, 2001, exactly 3 months shy of his 3rd birthday. Harrison's pediatrician sent us from his office, to the ER at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The words he cried out loudly, "I DON'T WANT THIS! I DON'T WANT THIS!!" as they attempted to put in a routine IV drip, to begin administering insulin, still haunt me to this day anytime I see someone that has an IV. We all spent four grueling days at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, learning all we could about diabetes, counting carbohydrates, and learning how to test his blood sugar, and how to calculate the number of units of insulin to administer via injection. Reality set in (for me) on Day 3 of the hospital stay, when we met with his Pediatric Endocrinologist, Dr. Jennifer Najar (or, "doctor in a jar," as she liked to say jokingly.) Harrison immediately took to Dr. Najar, as did we. She was very comforting, reassuring, and knowledgeable, in her actions, and words. I can still remember Dr. Najar's words, as we sat in the playroom of the hospital, watching Harrison play with several kids that suffered from various other diseases. As she looked at some of the other kids, and back at Harrison, she said, "You know, with a slight modification of lifestyle, Harrison can live a normal life. Everything will be fine. You'll see!" I couldn't "see" much at the time, because of the tears that were pouring from my eyes, as I thought that most his dreams, and hopes, had been shattered. It has been almost 12 years since Harrison's diagnosis. However, Dr. Najar was absolutely right! While we have had our struggles with diabetes, and Harrison has even cursed the disease, he has dreams of joining the United States military (the Marines,) and the attached picture is of his 1st Place victory, just this past weekend, at his first ever Jiu-Jitsu competition, that was held in Lakeland, Florida. But then again, I have ALWAYS known that he was a "champion." He is MY champion!

John Tharpe
Greensboro, NC