QUEEN CAUSE with a
Sixth-grader seeks pageant crowns to raise awareness of her two ailments, Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease
Lakeside resident Bianca Villalobos has a very packed schedule, especially considering that she is only 12 years old. Throughout all her activities, Bianca has one primary goal of increasing awareness for her two chronic health conditions: Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. The sixth-grader spends each day being home-schooled by her mom, before busy evenings filled with extracurricular activities. She prepares herself for upcoming pageants and dances at least five days out of the week, taking ballet and jazz classes and rehearsing with two performing groups.
She also dedicates time to volunteering with her church and at the Veterans of Foreign
Wars post, where she retires the flag and serves meals to veterans, and frequently donates to causes she supports, whether it’s by bringing books to Little Free Libraries or insulin doses to the nonprofit Insulin for Life.
“I really don’t like to take breaks. I just like to keep on going,” Bianca said.
As if she isn’t already busy enough, Bianca is also striving to raise $5,000 in support of Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy this year by leading a team of walkers for the JDRF One Walk fundraising event on Nov. 12 in Balboa Park. As of May 13, her team has raised $125 through her fundraising campaign.
Bianca is one of 200,000 Americans under the age of 20 living with the disease, reports JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a global non
profit supporting Type 1 diabetes research. The disease can appear at any age.
Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas no longer makes insulin, a hormone that helps blood sugar enter cells, where it is used by the body as energy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When there isn’t enough insulin, it causes a person to have high blood sugar, which is damaging to the body over time and can be fatal.
The condition is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction, and someone is more likely to develop the condition if they have inherited certain genes from their parent.
Often, having a viral illness triggers the first symptoms of Type 1 diabetes in children, said Dr. Ahmad Bailony, chair of pediatrics at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.
“It’s not what causes it, but it’s what causes your blood sugar to spike, and that’s the first time we know something’s up,” he said.
At first, children may have flulike symptoms from the virus, but as the virus is resolved, other symptoms linger. The child may be thirstier than usual, drink a lot of water and urinate more frequently.
While doing a Pop Warner physical for a 7-year-old, Bailony said the child’s mom told him her son had recently started wetting the bed again. That led to him checking the boy’s blood sugar level, which came in very high.
“Luckily, it was caught in time before he got too sick with it, but it’s generally symptoms like needing to drink more, having to go to the bathroom or just looking sick, feeling tired or feeling like something’s off,” he said.
When Bianca was 2 years old, her mom, Tina Villalobos, knew something was wrong when her behavior suddenly changed. At the time, Bianca was always thirsty, but also urinating so much and so frequently that no matter how often Tina changed her diapers, they were consistently oversaturated.
Doctors diagnosed Bianca with viruses, a bacterial infection and a yeast infection, but none of the treatments seemed to address a greater underlying issue.
Then on the night of March 12, 2010, Villalobos brought her daughter to an emergency room in La Mesa, where Bianca’s blood was tested and she was finally diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“I wish we knew who the doctor was, because we’re so thankful that she’s here every single day because they paid attention, they checked her blood, they did the necessary tests to make sure that she was gonna be OK and get an actual diagnosis,” Villalobos said.
Two years ago, after experiencing stomachaches, Bianca was also diagnosed with celiac disease, another autoimmune health condition that causes an adverse reaction to gluten.
Managing Bianca’s two chronic health conditions and busy extracurricular schedule has taken a lot of support from her family, especially her mom, who leads home-school lessons for Bianca and her 14-year-old brother, Anthony. But Villalobos is happy to support her daughter in her mission to raise awareness of her health conditions while also giving back to the community.
“She’s the person that would give you her last snack even though she should probably keep it for her low blood sugar, just in case, and thinks about others before she thinks about herself,” Villalobos said.
Bianca used to have to test her blood multiple times a day and need a lot of insulin shots, but these days, technology is able to help out quite a bit. She uses two wearable devices: a Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor to keep track of her blood sugar levels using a phone app, and a Tandem t:slim insulin pump, which adjusts insulin doses automatically.
“It helps me have freedom,” she said of the devices.
On a mission to raise awareness via pageants
Bianca strives to bring greater awareness and understanding of Type 1 diabetes to the public through her volunteer work and by participating in pageants.
When she was 5 years old,
Bianca was inspired to start competing in pageants after meeting Sierra Sandison, who made headlines while competing as Miss Idaho during the Miss America pageant in 2014 and openly wore her insulin pump onstage.
Bianca still has the dress from her very first pageant — a dark pink and silver cocktail dress — and she recalls being very nervous during that contest.
“Being on the stage in front of people wasn’t really my thing, but I got to know a lot of good people, so I kept trying them out and it was a really good thing,” Bianca said.
Since then, Bianca has won many titles and honors over the years. She holds the Miss California Pre-Teen 2022 title for National Extraordinary Miss. She also holds the Jr. Teen International for Teen Achieve/Woman of Achievement crown, which she will pass onto her successor in August in Anaheim.
This summer, Bianca is representing her appointed title as Junior Miss Sunshine State, competing at the Regency International pageant in Las Vegas. She is representing Florida in honor of her “DiaBuddy” Billy Bowser, who died last year at age 44 of complications from Type 1 diabetes, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Bowser was a dance instructor and pageant competitor from Central Florida, and as her DiaBuddy, he helped answer Bianca’s questions about living with the disease, while also bonding over a mutual appreciation for dance and spreading diabetes awareness.
“A DiaBuddy is someone who’s there for you,” Bianca said. “He helped me a lot because when I was having a bad day, I had someone to talk to who understood what I was going through.”
Having other people to learn from and share experiences with is an important resource for people diagnosed with the disease. Because Bianca’s father is in the U.S. Navy, the Villalobos family has received a lot of support through military resources.
JDRF answers questions through its online portal and also connects people living with Type 1 diabetes with outreach volunteers who can provide one-on-one support.
The nonprofit also hosts an online forum for members to share everything with one another, from information about scholarship opportunities and using insulin pumps, to recommendations for a good endocrinologist and coping with anxiety.
The American Diabetes Association offers “Ask the Experts” virtual events each month, where people living with diabetes can learn about various aspects of living with the condition.
Through Diversity in Diabetes — an organization created to improve diversity in diabetes care — people can participate in a free, monthly support group. The nonprofit also offers a free, virtual 12-week education program on diabetes management for people living with the condition. That includes the more common Type 2 diabetes, which in its early stages can be controlled through diet and exercise.
“For any kid with a chronic condition, the biggest thing is setting up the proper resources so that kid can thrive,” Bailony said. “It really is something that needs the work of multiple people — the family, seeing the right specialist and having the right support systems for them to succeed.”
“She’s the person that would give you her last snack even though she should probably keep it for her low blood sugar, just in case, and thinks about others before she thinks about herself.” Bianca’s mom, Tina Villalobos