Ben Quinn and Matthew Parkinson, whose young sons Darcy and Sam have type 1 diabetes, have rolled up their sleeves and organised a $100-a-head luncheon in conjunction with the Maitland Blacks Rugby Club at Marcellin Park on November 20.

Type 1 diabetes causes a person’s immune system to turn on itself, destroying the beta cells within the pancreas and removing the body’s ability to produce the hormone insulin, which allows the body to process sugar to create energy. If left untreated, the body starves because it cannot process food.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s website tells us that parents can feel like their whole world has been turned upside down when first told their child has type 1 diabetes.

For parents of youngsters diagnosed with the condition there is a whole range of emotions they will have to deal with – shock, anger, fear and denial.

But the foundation is quick to point out that they don’t have to go through this emotional time alone and that every effort is being made to fund research in the hope of finding a cure.

The importance of finding a cure takes on an even higher priority when one realises that the Hunter Valley has the third highest rate of type 1 diabetes incidence in the world.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation plays a major role in advancing the day-to-day disease management tools that improve the quality of life of those affected by type 1 diabetes and also providing the necessary funding to continue the search for a cure.

But it can only do this with your support.

Insulin is not a cure – it’s only a treatment.