Tony Plana

Tony Plana

Actor

We want to stop diabetes for all the families who have had to endure the loss of a beloved grandmother.

Our dear, sweet Abuelita Adelaida became a widow at the young age of 40 when my mother was only 10 years old. My grandfather, Antonio, after whom I am named, was killed in the line of duty as a policeman when he inadvertently approached a car thief who was illegally parked. Adelaida never fully recovered. Diagnosed with diabetes shortly thereafter, she spent the rest of her life in mourning and needed a shot of insulin every single day.

While in Cuba, she channeled the passionate love for her husband into a consummate dedication for her only daughter, Conchita, and then for her grandchildren, Tony, Victor, and Oscar when exiled in the United States. Every act of cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, sewing was one of spiritual devotion and service to her familia. These acts became threads of kindness with which she knitted an intricate colcha de amor that to this day envelops us still with the confirmation of being unique and worthy.

In memory of my abuelita and the thousands of Latinos that have lost familia to diabetes, let’s take the battle to the next level and put an end to this dreaded disease. We owe it to our children to stop it!

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