Main Street at Lakewood Ranch will host its monthly Music on Main concert from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Friday, May 7, 2010. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo and dance to the Latin beat of Big Night Out. Beer, wine, and food sales will benefit the Florida Suncoast Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for juvenile diabetes and its complications. Juvenile, or type 1, diabetes is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to destroy insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, glucose stays in the blood where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body. In order to stay alive, children with type 1 diabetes must receive multiple injections of insulin daily, and test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers six or more times a day. Controlling this disease requires 24/7/365 vigilance and imposes a grueling regimen. It means children and their families living by the clock, day and night, for the rest of their lives—lives that turn out to average about 15 years less than normal. You can't outgrow type 1 diabetes, and devastating complications such as blindness, stroke, amputation, heart disease, and kidney failure are an ever-present threat. For more information visit jdrf.org or call Jeannie Kawcak at 907-0811.
