John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s family have joined thousands of American families in navigating a lifelong prognosis: Their son Miles has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
After sharing a photo of Teigen, Miles, and her daughter Luna at the Olympics cheering on Simone Biles where Miles’ monitor was visible, the mother confirmed the news in a lengthy statement on Instagram.
“A lot of you noticed something a little special about a photo I posted a few days ago – Luna, Miles, and I were celebrating Simone and Team USA. Miles had his arm up and sooo many of you reached out to say the most beautiful and incredible words I have ever witnessed on this platform,” Teigen wrote in the statement.
She continued, “You noticed his Type-1 diabetes monitor and extended so much love and encouragement in every way possible. I was, and am, so blown away by the kindness of this community, already.”
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The “Cravings” cookbook author further explained that, like so many other families, they discovered Miles had Type 1 diabetes after he contracted an unrelated illness, and they sought care.
“A couple [of] weeks ago, our Miles was sick, in the hospital, with a terrible case of shigella, an intestinal infection caused by bacteria in food or water. A lot of his friends were also sick with it, as they went to the same camp and well, it happens!” she continued.
“But the doctors knew something else was off about his blood tests. I’ve learned since then that this is how so many young children end up being diagnosed with Type-1 — going to the hospital for something completely different.”
Teigen said after more testing they learned Miles was in the “‘honeymoon period’ of a lifetime of T1.”
“Last night we gave him his first shot of insulin and here we go! A different, new world for us and we are certainly learning so much on the fly,” she added.
Teigen and Legend share daughters Luna, 8, and Esti, 18 months, and sons Miles, 6, and Wren, 13 months.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Miles is one of roughly 304,000 children with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. Despite white American children maintaining the highest rate of diagnosis, behind non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander children, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black children and adolescents had “significant” increases in cases over the last 15 years. Since 2009, the rate of diagnosis among Black children has been steadily increasing.
“This post is to thank you so much for your kindness. It helps Miles so much to know so many other people are going through the same thing, and he is not alone,” Teigen continued in her statement.
She closed the statement by sharing that she and Legend have been reading the children’s book “Year One With Type One” to Miles to help him and their family navigate their new normal. She added that the book and the outpouring of support from the public have helped Miles know that he’s in good company.
“You’re not alone either! And we promise to be there for you guys like you have been there for us,” she wrote in her conclusion.
