NEW ROCHELLE, New York (WABC) — A high school student in Westchester County is bringing awareness to diabetes with the help of New York Mets legend Ron Darling.
Darling accepted 17-year-old Matty Zimmerman’s invitation to attend a fundraiser at Iona Prep High School on Thursday night to sign autographs, raise money and share stories for a good cause.
“He and his email got me thinking about having a chance to talk about something that’s near and dear to me,” Darling said.
Zimmerman first got Darling’s attention years ago when he was wearing a shirt that read “diabetes warrior.”
“It’s like the only type 1 diabetes shirt I owned. And he asked about it, he told me about his own personal connection to the disease,” Zimmerman said.
“I felt like I was talking to my son in some ways,” Darling said.
Zimmerman has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost all of his life, just as Darling’s son has.
He soon realized he had more in common with his baseball superhero.
“To see someone of his status in my mind that has to go through the same personal struggles that I do is just so eye-opening to see that everybody has to go through their own struggles regardless of whether or not you’re a senior in high school or a World Series Champion,” Zummerman said.
The funds that were raised are going to an organization called “Breakthrough T1D” which researches Type 1 Diabetes.
“We’re scheduled to raise $270 million for research and grants and advocacy. We send people to D.C. for affordable insulin and trying to get drugs to kind of ward off Type 1. It’s just tremendous,” Jill Waller with Breakthrough T1D said.
There is no cure, but researchers say they are making great strides because of events like this one.
“My son didn’t contract it until he was 10 years old, and we didn’t know what it was, and it scared us just like I’m sure it scared you and your family,” Darling said.
Life threw Zimmerman a curveball at 5 years old that could have discouraged him, but he didn’t let it.
“I’ve been able to, over the past 12 years, really use it to push me to do more,” Zimmerman said.
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