Resident committed to fighting diabetes

MARLBORO — Lauren Dorman of Marlboro, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator specializing in diabetes management, put together a team of 35 family members and friends for the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes, held Oct. 12 at the Avon-by-the-Sea boardwalk.

Dorman served as captain of that team, which raised $2,400 for JDRF by completing the 5-mile walk, one of 10 such events held last month in New Jersey and one of 200 worldwide to help herald and promote November as National Diabetes Month. She also officially launched her new business, Control type 1, at the event, by staffing a table prior to the walk where she distributed information.

Dorman's mantra, "The more you know, the better your control," says a great deal about her concept for Control Type 1, through which she provides a four-session, in-home education program that gives families and their Type 1 diabetes child the knowledge and tools necessary for a healthy diabetes life.

"Many people do not understand that Type 1 diabetes is a 24-hour-a-day disease," she said. "Before each meal, children with this disease must check their blood sugar, count the carbohydrates they will eat and inject insulin based on their blood sugar levels and the food on their plates. There is no break from diabetes."

The seeds for the idea to start Control Type 1 were sown during Dorman's 2002- 2007 tenure working as the inpatient pediatric dietician at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, an experience that she said made a deep impression on her.

The impact of her grandfather's death in 2002 due to complications from diabetes, and the inspiration she gained from her father, who made a decision to lose 60 pounds and remain fit, also were important keys to Dorman's decision to establish Control Type 1. Her dad and mother, Ilan and Sharon Zarom of Marlboro, walked with her on Oct. 12, as did her husband, Neil, and his parents, Pam and Howard Dorman, two of seven Manalapan residents on the team.

According to JDRF, 3 million people in the U.S. have type 1 diabetes and each year more than 15,000 American children are diagnosed with the disease. Some symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination and weight loss.

Dorman also is a diabetes educator at the Center for Diabetes Education at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, and the Pediatric Endocrinology Department at the Women's and Children's Specialty Center, Lakewood. For more information about Control Type 1, visit www.controltype1.com, e-mail lauren@controltype1.com.