November is National Diabetes Month

Bret and all of us at Michaels Entertainment Group are passionate about diabetes education and awareness. All month long we will be featuring stories, videos, and more to do our part to raise awareness for diabetes education and research. Bret is grateful to be a spokesperson for National Diabetes Month.

This month we will be partnering with EASE T1D to share stories from our #KnowSurviveThrive campaign to put faces to the many stories about being diagnosed and living with diabetes.

We will be bringing you the journey of not only Bret’s diagnosis at age six but diagnosis stories of people from all walks of life and all ages. We feel it is important to share every story we can to show that if you know the facts, you can survive the impact, and thrive living the life you dream of.

All of the journeys we share this month will be featured on TeamBretMichaels.com, which is the home of the Life Rocks Foundation’s Share Your Story Campaigns from the last decade. If you would like to share your story with us to help and inspire others, visit TeamBretMichaels.com’s Submit Your Story page.

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Bret Michaels is a multi-platinum global superstar who uses his international success as a platform for advocacy.

The 58-year-old singer was first diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at six years old. At the point of his diagnosis, Michaels was going into ketoacidosis – his body was effectively shutting down.

Type 1 Diabetes develops when a person’s own immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. In some cases, the immune attack usually begins several years before Type 1 Diabetes symptoms even appear. Failure to diagnose and begin treatments can lead to the onset of Diabetic Ketoacidosis, which can result in a person going into a coma and then death. For others, over time, long-term health complications can lead to heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, and stroke.

Type 1 Diabetes affects over 1.25 million Americans. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), by the year 2050, the number of youth diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in the U.S. will quadruple.

It is estimated that the economic costs of Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes increased by 26 percent from 2012 to 2017 to nearly $327 billion. Medical costs alone totaled $237 billion. The cost of Type 1 Diabetes is projected to grow exponentially with the rising cost of insulin, which is “protected from generic competitors under patent law.”

Michaels has helped raise tens of millions of dollars through his Life Rocks Foundation to donate to diabetes awareness and research through the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and JDRF. He has collaborated with both the ADA and JDRF acting as a spokesperson and sponsor, earning him numerous awards from a variety of organizations.

Michaels is the first person to receive the ADA’s prestigious Chair’s Citation. The Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of individuals, corporations, institutions, or organizations who have demonstrated significant dedication and commitment in their local market and have had a positive impact in advancing the mission of the ADA.

Michaels also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the ADA and has helped to put a face to diabetes; raising critical awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of diabetes prevention and management. Michaels achieved this during his time on the NBC hit, Celebrity Apprentice.

You can read more about Bret’s life with diabetes is his Auto-Scrap-Ography available at ShopBretMichaels.com.