A Conversation With Juvenile Diabetes Advocate, Survivor and Thriver, Nancy Gaudet

Nancy Gaudet is a strong, fiercely independent woman who cares deeply and loves unconditionally.  Her story involves doing a bike ride for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to raise funds for children with Type One diabetes, as her son had been diagnosed with it at age nine. It was her fourth ride and she was 58 years old. She completed the 100 miles and two hours later had a massive seizure, landing her in the ICU unit at a hospital in Florida. She spent five days there close to kidney failure and was read her last rites. Fortunately, she has no permanent damage, went through months of rehab, and changed her life. Nancy manages 12,000 apartments and supervises 400 staff for a family-owned real estate company in Boston.  Her greatest joy is her 22-year-old son.  She also is an advocate and fundraiser.  She started and has been running for ten years a monthly support group for other moms, whose children also have juvenile diabetes, helping more than 200 mothers with that effort. Nancy met her soulmate during the pandemic, while working on another fundraiser.  She and her partner were both working on a fundraising project for dear friends.  A friendship formed, and a goal of raising a substantial amount of money to help mutual friends was achieved.  According to Nancy, that first kiss, after months of talking on the phone for hundreds of hours, was just like living in a Hallmark movie.  There was that one singular, slow motion moment when time stood still and two very bruised and battered hearts let the tiny droplets of love seep in slowly.  She believes that there are no coincidences; there are only “God instances.”   To learn more about Nancy's support group for women whose children have juvenile diabetes, email her at [email protected].