Jamie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was only 1 year old. Before she knew she had this chronic condition without a cure, she threw up every day, she didn’t want to play, she didn’t want to eat, she was always really thirsty, and she would just lay down, totally lacking energy. Because she was so young that she couldn’t communicate her feelings in words, her parents were terrified that she might die. 

Since Jamie was diagnosed 14 years ago, she has always been fascinated with how technology is helping her life become better and easier. She became one of the youngest insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM) users soon after her diagnosis, participated in a clinical trial for the first commercial “artificial pancreas” system, and is now Looping (a non-FDA approved artificial pancreas system). One of her favorite technologies is the CGM because it alerts her when her blood sugar numbers are out of range, allowing her to act on this data and minimize the effects of out-of-range blood sugars like from before her diagnosis.

This interest in technology and medicine is what led her to become the Director of Scientific Communications for SURF. Jamie has loved working with SURF because they are doing groundbreaking work to help spread medical technology to all. Jamie believes that SURF’s work with CGMs is helping to find a cure and are greatly improving peoples’ lives, including hers. Jamie is so grateful for SURF for helping to make these lifelong dreams come true.