According to an interview conducted with Roy Reynolds back in 2003, the BikeFest organizers wanted to make a difference.

They wanted to help attract tourism and bring dollars to Bainbridge — to the merchants and inn keepers. But, more than that, they wanted to be able to make a difference in people’s lives by making charitable contributions to national, as well as local worthy causes.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation was an initial recipient of BikeFest dollars, and continues to be each year.

Several articles about some of the Decatur County young people diagnosed with Type I Juvenile Diabetes have been featured in earlier BikeFest stories.

This is an update about where they are now and how they are successfully living with diabetes.

 

Mollie Meggs is the daughter of Amanda and Tracy Meggs. She, along with her mother Amanda Meggs have long been associated with BikeFest, and that may well have been one of the reasons the organization took such an interest in JDRF.

Meggs, who is now living in Woodville, Fla., is a CNA and works as a private caregiver. She is enrolled at Tallahassee Community College finishing pre-requisites to go into nursing, which she hopes to be able to do in the spring.

Moreover, she has recently come through a somewhat complicated pregnancy, giving birth to baby girl named Kenley on Aug. 2.

Describing her experience, Meggs said that pregnancy causes the body to resist insulin, and by the end of her term she was taking twice the amount. Due to complications, she spent the last two weeks in the hospital and delivered a 7-pound, 2-ounce baby at 35 weeks by C-Section. Even though the baby was a good weight, its lungs weren’t fully developed and it had to stay in the hospital an additional two weeks. She reports little Kenley is now a healthy, thriving baby. In addition to having a baby, Meggs is planning a wedding for Oct. 20 and she will be back, along with her fiancé, volunteering at BikeFest again this year.

 

Clayton Powell, the son of Carol and Bill Powell, was diagnosed with Type I Juvenile diabetes when he was 12 years of age. He is now 25, and a 2011 graduate of Southwest Georgia Technical College in Thomasville. He is living in Valdosta, Ga., and working as a respiratory therapist at South Georgia Medical Center.

Powell said dealing with his diabetes has made him a more organized and responsible person and definitely initiated his interest in pursuing a career in the health field.

He currently wears an insulin pump and says that helps him control his diabetes and his life.

Powell is planning to go back to school to work on a bachelor’s degree in management.

His involvement with Bikefest has been limited, but he recalls, “I did a poker run a few years back.”

 

Reese Moseley, son of Brown and Susan Moseley, was diagnosed at age 8. He is now 24. His mother said he went on an insulin pump his freshman year in college. He had been taking five shots a day before making that move, and the pump has made all the difference in his world. He has been able to play golf all through his college years.

He is a graduate student at Georgia Southwestern and will graduate with his MBA in December.

Actually, there were six students, four boys and two girls, in Moseley’s 2007 graduating class — all diagnosed with Type I Juvenile Diabetes. According to Susan Mosely, all were patients of the same pediatric endocrinologist, who did extensive research into lifestyles, genetics, inoculations, and environmental issues to see if there was a common denominator, but did not find anything conclusive.

She thought all of then had some illness or trauma that triggered, or assisted the findings. In the case of Moseley, a virus in his pancreas was not discovered until his pancreas had ceased operating.

Again, the diagnosis and the necessary changes made by the whole family in diet and exercise is viewed in a positive manner.

 

Kacie Franklin, the daughter of Judy Franklin, was diagnosed at age 11. Her mother recalls she was diagnosed on Oct. 30, one day before Halloween. Franklin is now 23 and graduated from Valdosta State University in May 2011, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She was married July 2011 to Paul Johns and is in her last year of studying for her master’s degree in clinical psychology. She also works at Belk Department Store, in Valdosta.

Like many of the others in this article, Franklin wears an insulin pump, and only finds it a problem when she goes through airport security and has to be patted down.

Franklin’s diabetes was found to be hereditary, but according to her mother, being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes was only a stumbling block for Franklin in the ninth grade. She has learned to manage it well.

“It is just a part of her life and she deals with it,” Kacie Franklin said.