In memory of Kelli Bonn


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Excerpts [with inserts, not part of original
article, included in brackets]:

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October 21, 2010

HONORS LATE WIFE WITH 'KELLI'S
RIDE' TO RAISE AWARENESS

Widower spearheads ... fundraiser
[to cure Insulinitis]

at azstarnet.com
http://tinyurl.com/kelli-bonn-insulinitis
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Photo Kelli & Randy Bonn
http://tinyurl.com/photo-kelli-and-randi-bonn
COURTESY OF RANDY BONN
Kelli Bonn, 32, had Type 1 diabetes [Insulinitis]
and died earlier this year. Randy Bonn has
organized a fundraiser to honor her memory ...

Kelli Bonn ... a vibrant, athletic 32-year-old, had
Type 1 diabetes [Insulinitis] and her husband
believes it was a medical crisis associated with
the disease that caused her to crash her car in
a single-vehicle roll-over Feb. 17.

"It was a day-to-day grind with the diabetes [the
type of High Glucose Condition Kelli had was
Insulinitis, aka type 1 diabetes]. As much as she
kept it in control [dealt with it in a manner which
required daily insulin injections (or use of an insulin
pump) and it's unmentioned whether Kelli used
insulin injections or an insulin pump, and as for
glucose tests, it's mentioned she tested 10 times
per day], it was always a lot of work," Randy Bonn
said.

"She was so very regimented about the control of
[dealing with] her diabetes [Insulinitis]. She was
so overly conscious about that. She'd check her
blood sugar [glucose levels] 10 times a day."

In his wife's memory, Randy Bonn has organized
Kelli's Ride, a motorcycle run to benefit the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation of Southern Arizona.
He hopes to raise $8,000 or more from the Saturday
event, which is expected to attract upwards of 100
riders from throughout the U.S. and Canada.

"When I started this thing I had no idea what I was
doing. I just knew I had to do something so that Kelli
will always be remembered," said Bonn, a systems
engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems. "I had zero
clue five months ago what this would be. I was just
a guy trying to figure out how to get up every day
and survive and make my wife proud of me. She was
always a very charitable person and this is something
I know would make her smile. I want to make it so
people will never forget her."

The motorcycling community is a niche the founda-
tion hadn't yet tapped, so local representatives were
excited when Bonn proposed his fundraiser, said Stacy
Taormina, a foundation branch manager in Tucson.

Money raised will fund research. Earlier this year re-
searchers at the University of Arizona received a two-
year, $500,000 grant from the foundation.

"Our goal is to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes [Insul-
initis]," Taormina said. "Some of the most promising
research is being done right here in our backyard."

....

Kelli and Randy met six years ago and they wed on a
beach in Kauai, Hawaii, in July 2007.

"It was the definition of a perfect marriage," he said.
"I never thought I could be so compatible with any-
body."

Kelli grew up in Tucson and joined the U.S. Air Force
when she graduated from high school. She was dis-
charged after being diagnosed with diabetes [the
type of High Glucose Condition Kelli was diagnosed
with is Insulinitis, aka type 1 diabetes -- I've read
that there is at least one individual who was serving
in the military in Iraq with Insulinitis, but that's rare
that an individual is allowed to serve in the military
after being diagnosed with the condition].

She earned a bachelor's degree from the UA and a
master's at Northern Arizona University. She taught
elementary school for five years before the stress
of cutbacks in education funding prompted her to
change careers and become a pharmaceutical repre-
sentative a couple of years ago. A week after her
death, the pharmaceutical company for which she
worked honored Bonn, posthumously, as their re-
gional "rookie of the year," Randy Bonn said.

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Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
C.ure I.nsulinitis A.ssociation
http://prohuman.net/cureinsulinitisassociation.htm
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