Romeo Miller, 34, recently reminded the world that you don’t know what people are going through in their everyday lives. During Thanksgiving celebrations, the artist and businessman shared that his first-born daughter, River Rose Miller, has type 1 diabetes.
“River Rose Miller aka my little rocket! Before I go to bed tonight, on this special day I give thanks to you and for you,” the proud dad of two wrote on Instagram in a caption under a reel of various moments with River in the hospital. “Behind that comely smile, there’s a fighter! I’ve never met a stronger human and I thank God everyday for assigning me to be your papa!”
Miller continued, “We’ve kept things private, but my daughter is one of the younger cases to be diagnosed with T1D. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic (life-long) autoimmune disease that prevents your pancreas from making insulin. It requires daily management with insulin injections, shots, and blood sugar monitoring just to survive,” he wrote.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that in 2021 an estimated 352,000 children and adolescents younger than age 20 were diagnosed with diabetes. Of that number, 304,000 had type 1 diabetes.
“At her age, there are many challenges and random sleep overs at the hospital, but our faith has never wavered and little sister Winter and Mama Drew are always by her side. The silver lining? Our bond is even stronger, because it’s a must I be there for my daughter medically,” he added.
In terms of how type 1 diabetes is caused, some scientists speculate that it could be influenced by genetics or environmental factors like viruses but the concrete cause is unknown. Common symptoms of diabetes include being frequently thirsty, urinating frequently, nausea and vomiting, sleepiness, blurred vision, and weight loss among others.
“We’ve been blessed to work with one of the best in the world in Doctor Francine Kaufman, and I wanna give that knowledge and access back to all whom are going through a similar journey. @omnipod and @dexcom has been a life saver, but my mission is to help the T1D community find a cure. We have some exciting news coming soon! The @mylittlerocketco is an all purpose company and charity inspired by my daughter and owned by my daughter. Romans 8:28 🌍🙏🏾,” Miller said towards the end of the caption. That Bible verse reads, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
“I’ll end it on the famous quote, ‘you never know what someone is going through, so be kind,'” he concluded.
River Rose was born in February 2022, making her almost two years old. He is also a father to Winter Snoh, who was born in March this year. The artist has both of his daughters with girlfriend Drew Sangster.