Double the reason to double your impact

Will you please help? Make a tax-deductible donation to help children like Allie and Ayva live well with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

EVERY donation made before midnight 30 June will be DOUBLED!

Sean and Lauren Henshaw’s lives were shaken when their twin daughters, Allie and Ayva, were diagnosed with T1D at just one and a half years old. After noticing Allie getting very sick, vomiting frequently and having high temperatures, they rushed her to the hospital.

A blood test confirmed she had T1D. Allie spent a week in the hospital after her diagnosis, a stressful and scary time for her parents. 

“She was only one and a half years old, being poked and prodded with needles. It was scary and unsettling to watch as a parent,” recalls Sean.

Five weeks after Allie’s diagnosis, Sean and Lauren’s world turned upside down for the second time. Lauren noticed twin Ayva displaying similar symptoms and she was also diagnosed with T1D shortly after.

Lauren and Sean suddenly found themselves with not one but two toddlers with T1D. They faced a steep learning curve as they adapted to their new life with an unfamiliar and chronic condition. 

“It was a lot of work learning how to manage it… getting them used to needles was the hardest part.” – Lauren

As Ayva and Allie were diagnosed so young, managing T1D is now a lifelong reality. Sean and Lauren are determined to change this reality, emphasising the urgent need for ongoing research and funding.

Australian researchers are working to improve the lives of individuals like twins Allie and Ayva. One such researcher is A/Prof John Wentworth, who is researching how to delay, halt and one day prevent and cure T1D.

“Our work is developing safe and effective treatments that turn off the immune attack so kids like Allie and Ayva don’t get T1D.”– A/Prof Wentworth, Lead Investigator at the Australasian Type 1 Diabetes Immunotherapy Collaborative (ATIC).

With your help, we can help fund life-changing research, and be there beside every family until we hear four magic words – we have a cure.

Make a tax-deductible donation to support Australian families impacted by T1D. All donations before 30 June are tax-deductible.