Family, friends rally behind 4-year-old with diabetes at JDRF One Walk
PHOENIX (FOX 10) - Thousands gathered at Sloan Park Saturday for the annual JDRF One Walk to raise money to fund research and hopefully a cure for type 1 diabetes.
In the sea of 15,000 participants at the JDRF One Walk, it's hard to miss the princess posse, decked out in hot pink, tiaras, and boas.
Although the group may be large, they're all there for one reason, Jaylen.
"We all wanted to get together makes sure she knows she's a special princess today and we're all celebrating her," said Arielle Johnson, Jaylen's aunt.
Arielle, Jaylen's aunt, says the 4-year-old's type 1 diabetes diagnosis turned their world upside down just four months ago.
"When she got diagnosed, we have such a big family it affected us all because we all take care of her, we all spend time with her so we all want to make sure we knew exactly what we're going to do make sure she wasn't alone, make sure my sister had support," said Johnson.
Jaylen's mom Ashley says she noticed Jaylen was acting differently and recognized the symptoms because of a family friend.
"We had friends that their son was diagnosed at 4 so I knew the symptoms and it came on pretty soon pretty sudden," said Ashley Torres, Jaylen's mom.
Their world was changed and the princess posse was born, a fierce, fun, and powerful group like many others that take part in the JDRF One Walk every year to raise money for research and ultimately to discover a cure.
"I'm super overwhelmed like walking up here I wanted to cry just because you know that everybody is going through the same thing we're all going through, the same battle," said Torres.