obituaries
Her Wide Smile
Brightened All
Around Her
I
Stacy Gittleman
Contributing Writer
A
Hannah Knoll of Huntington Woods, center, with the support of her "Bloody Fingers" teammates, joined thousands at the
GM Tech Center to "turn type 1 into type none."
Gathering Support
Metro Detroit
Jewish families join fight against type 1 diabetes.
W
hen Lisa Knoll of
Huntington Woods noticed
dramatic weight loss in
her daughter Hannah, 12, she became
extremely concerned and knew some-
thing wasn't right.
Hannah had dropped from a healthy
77 pounds to just 67 pounds in less
than a year. She was taken to the doctor
where they found her blood sugar to be
at a staggering 450 mg/DL instead of
within the normal range of between 80
and 120 mg/DL. Hannah was diagnosed
with type 1 diabetes (T1D) almost
immediately.
According to JDRF, a nonprofit leading
fundraising for type 1 diabetes research,
approximately 80 people per day are
diagnosed with T1D in the United States.
Half of them are children who, with
the help of their caregivers, will require
insulin injections or pumps for the rest
of their lives. The prevalence of T1D in
Americans younger than age 20 rose by
23 percent between 2001 and 2009.
"Our involvement with JDRF in sup-
port of research for a cure for not only
our children but also others with T1D
comes from a loving — and quite scary
— place said Lisa Knoll. All of us have
lived it, and while our individual strug-
gles and challenges could probably fit a
multi-volume novel, the true strength
for all of us comes from our very brave
children. They are our heroes!"
"A type 1 diabetes diagnosis com-
pletely changes a person's life said Kate
Durak, executive director for the JDRF
Metro Detroit, Southeast Michigan and
Northwest Ohio Chapter. "Each day
people with T1D must overcome the
constant challenges of the disease. JDRF
is committed to funding research that
will offer better treatments and eventu-
ally a cure:'
Daily life for Hannah is much differ-
ent from others her age. Her day begins
at 6:30 a.m. with a check of her blood
sugar, insulin administered through her
pump, counting meal carbs for the day
and looking at planned physical activi-
ties in order to plan for snacks and any
potential "lows" she might experience.
Living an active lifestyle with T1D,
Hannah must be very diligent in manag-
ing her disease.
Knoll's team raised almost $25,000
in this year's JDRF One Walk on Sept.
28 and the family rallied together 11
other families in the Jewish community,
who plan to meet monthly to provide
support and guidance to one another as
they navigate such a complicated and
serious disease. The group is a mix of
families with members who have been
newly diagnosed as well as those who
have battled T1D for years.
Hannah and her family are just some
of the 7,500 who joined the fight against
this disease to help raise awareness and
find a cure for T1D during JDRF's annu-
al One Walk. Between the Ann Arbor
and Warren One Walk events, the non-
profit raised $1.8 million to help fund
research for prevention, treatment and/
or a cure for T1D and its complications.
Like Hannah's family, the Weber fam-
ily of Birmingham also struggles with
T1D. Eight-year-old Lola Weber was
ecstatic to start her summer vacation
this past June until she unexpectedly
passed out in the shower. After being
rushed to the hospital, she was admitted
for three days and came home with a
diagnosis of T1D.
The Weber family, like so many oth-
ers, sprang into action and signed up for
the JDRF One Walk. The Webers raised
more than $26,000 for the cause since
Lola's diagnosis only a few short months
ago.
"When Lola received her diagnosis,
we were shocked and saddened that
her life would change so drastically in
such a short time said Jeff Weber, Lola's
father. "We had no other choice but to
Lola Weber of Birmingham
demonstrates how she tests her
blood sugar after being diagnosed
with type 1 diabetes in June.
take action and inspire Lola to keep
fighting and be strong:'
Because of her T1D diagnosis, Lola
must check her blood glucose levels
by pricking her finger and sampling
the blood using a blood glucose meter
before all meals, large snacks, exercise,
bedtime and at 2 a.m. Her father wakes
her up every night to ensure her blood
glucose levels are not low; when they
are, she has to get up to eat.
Since Lola's pancreas has stopped pro-
ducing insulin entirely, she must inject
herself with both a long-acting basal
insulin once per day and a rapid-acting
insulin whenever she consumes carbo-
hydrates in excess of 15-30 grams or her
blood glucose levels exceed 300 mg/DL.
Her mother goes to her school every day
at lunch to ensure she is receiving the
correct amount of insulin.
Lola's resiliency has been remark-
able. Almost four months since her
diagnosis, Lola has learned to recognize
her "highs" and "lows:' understand her
blood glucose readings and inject her-
self with insulin using a pen needle.
❑
nna Hendren Schwalb, 5, of
Ann Arbor, died Oct. 1, 2014,
as a result of injuries suffered
when she was struck by a car Friday,
Sept. 26, while walking home from a
family Rosh Hashanah celebration.
She was the
beloved daughter of
Dr. Jason Schwalb
and Dr. Samantha
Hendren and
cherished sister of
Jessica Hendren
Schwalb and Joseph
Hendren Schwalb.
Anna Schwalb
Anna's golden
curls and wide smile
brightened every room she entered. She
loved to sing and lead songs at her pre-
school at the Jewish Community Center
of Greater Ann Arbor.
She was a happy participant at
Tot Shabbat services at Beth Israel
Congregation in Ann Arbor. This fall,
she happily adjusted to kindergarten
at the Hebrew Day School of Ann
Arbor. She always made sure everyone
was included in playgroups. She loved
her friends and, upon returning from
school, created paintings and drawings
for her friends and family. Annie used to
say that when she grew up she wanted
to be a nanny or a teacher. She loved
purple and believed in unicorns.
The family would like to express grati-
tude for the world-class care provided by
the medical team at C.S. Mott Children's
Hospital in Ann Arbor.
She is also survived by loving
grandparents, Carla Page and Robert
Hendren; Rabbi J. Fredric Schwalb and
Joanne Landau, and Ellen Kahne; great-
grandparent, Sam F. Mineo; and aunts
and uncles, Christopher and Melinda
Hendren, Micah and Katie Schwalb,
Benjamin, Amit and Zhenya Schwalb.
She is also survived by many loving
great-aunts, great-uncles and cousins.
She was also loved and cared for by her
devoted nanny, Christina Linguidi.
Donations in Anna's memory may
be sent to the Hebrew Day School of
Greater Ann Arbor at www.hdsaa.org/
site/giving or by mailing a check to 2937
Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Arbor, MI
48108 or by calling (734) 971-4633.
The funeral was held Oct. 3 at Beth
Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor and
attended by hundreds of mourners,
followed by a private burial.
❑
To donate, go to www.michiganeast.jdrforg/
get-involved/ways-to-donate.
Obituaries on page 62
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October 9 • 2014
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