When Nick’s son Parker was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at just two and a half years old, his family’s life changed overnight. Five years later, his daughter Evie was diagnosed at age four.
Today, Parker and Evie’s experiences are at the heart of Palmr Style, the lifestyle apparel company Nick founded with his wife. They also inspired its newest chapter, Onboard by Palmr, a dedicated collection and community created for people living with T1D.
Nick spoke with Diabetes Research Connection about raising two children with T1D, transforming his family’s challenges into a business with a purpose, and why connection and continued research give him hope for the future.
A Diagnosis Nick Will Never Forget
More than a decade has passed since Parker’s diagnosis, but Nick still remembers the experience vividly. In the weeks leading up to it, Parker was constantly thirsty and soaking through diapers. At the time, Nick did not know these were common warning signs of T1D.
Then Parker’s condition rapidly worsened. He became lethargic, began vomiting, and seemed almost lifeless in his father’s arms. When Nick called the on-call nurse, he mentioned the excessive urination that had been happening for weeks.That detail immediately changed the urgency of the conversation.
Nick was instructed to take Parker directly to the children’s hospital, where he was diagnosed with T1D and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
“We spent three days in the hospital with him. And the doctor said, maybe if another day or two had gone by, he might not be here. It was scary.”
At the time, Nick knew very little about type 1 diabetes and did not realize that young children could develop it.
Facing a Second Diagnosis
After Parker’s diagnosis, the possibility that another child could develop T1D remained in the back of Nick’s mind. Still, he had been reassured that the chances were very low, and he did not truly believe it would happen again.
Five years later, during 2020, Evie’s mother called Nick after checking her blood sugar. Evie was over 300 mg/dL. Although the family knew exactly what to do this time and caught the diagnosis before she developed severe DKA, the news was still devastating.
“I was completely shocked because again, I thought in the back of my head, the chance of this happening was so low. I mean, you always kind of thought about it, like what if, but I kind of was just like, I don't know, believe that just wasn't going to happen.”
Evie, however, reacted very differently from the adults around her. She had spent her entire life watching Parker check his blood sugar, use diabetes devices, and manage the condition. To her, diabetes seemed like something that simply happened when children reached a certain age.
“She was four years old. And to her, she's like, wait, don't we all get diabetes? Her entire life she's seen her brother do this stuff. She just naturally thought that this was the way of life and that once you got to a certain age, you had to start doing that too.”
The Reality of Raising Children With T1D
For families living with T1D, daily life often looks very different from the outside. Meals, snacks, birthday parties, sports, school activities, sleepovers, and even ordinary moments of independence require additional planning and vigilance. As Parker has grown older, Nick has slowly begun giving him more independence.
“I'm just now at a spot with my son who's 13 where I'm like, okay, I'm trusting you now to manage your diabetes more. Like I'm still keeping an eye on it, but I can go drop them off at a birthday party. And not be there.”
That gradual transition reflects one of the many challenges T1D parents face: allowing their children to become independent while knowing that diabetes management never takes a break.
Turning a Personal Need Into Palmr Style
Nick had worked in merchandising for more than 20 years and already owned a company with screen-printing and embroidery equipment. His wife had long dreamed of attending fashion school, and on their first date, the two joked about someday creating a clothing brand together.After they married, they decided to make the idea real.
During a birthday trip to the Bahamas, they agreed they would not leave until they had developed a name and a concept. Surrounded by palm trees and inspired by the coastal lifestyle they loved, they created Palmr Style. But for this family, launching another apparel company was not enough. They wanted the business to have a deeper purpose.
“I can't just start a business. I want to be able to give back and make sure there's a mission behind it.”
When he asked his wife what cause they should support, the answer seemed obvious to her.
“She looks at me like I'm like an idiot and she's like, if we're going to do something, we're going to do something around type 1 diabetes. That's our whole life.”
As they discussed the challenges Parker and Evie faced, they began thinking about how clothing could make diabetes management easier. Dresses often lacked places to securely carry a pump, while other clothing could make tubing and devices uncomfortable or difficult to access.
Their first diabetes-friendly product was a belt bag inspired by the packs Parker and Evie had already been using to carry their supplies. They designed their own version to be practical, comfortable, and something their children would actually enjoy wearing.
The belt bag was an immediate hit with Evie, and a video showing her reaction received approximately 200,000 views. Parker became especially attached to a pair of pump-friendly joggers the company designed.
Designing for Different Diabetes Experiences
As Nick and his wife developed more products, they learned that there is no single design solution that works for every person with T1D. People wear their pumps in different locations, route tubing differently, prefer different levels of visibility, and have their own routines for carrying supplies. A feature that works perfectly for one customer may not fit how another person manages their diabetes.
“The biggest thing that we learned is everybody does it a different way. I'll ask, ‘so how should we solve this problem?’ and we would get 10 completely different answers from everybody.”
Palmr’s design process has therefore become an ongoing experiment shaped by feedback from people living with T1D. The company creates concepts, tests them, listens to customers, and continues adjusting.
Nick is also aware that affordability can be a major challenge within the T1D community. Specialized clothing is expensive to produce in smaller quantities, while many families are already carrying the financial burden of insulin, devices, appointments, and other medical expenses.
Although the company remains committed to creating pump-friendly products, Nick realized that Palmr could not survive as an exclusively diabetes-focused clothing company. The broader lifestyle brand provides the financial foundation that allows the family to continue supporting the T1D community.
A New Chapter: Onboard by Palmr
As Palmr grew throughout Florida, the company found itself balancing two distinct identities. One focused on coastal and Florida lifestyle apparel, while the other focused on T1D products, resources, and community.
Advisors repeatedly encouraged Nick to remove diabetes from the company’s public messaging so the broader brand would be easier to market. He refused.
“People kept telling us, you just need to get rid of type 1 diabetes part, stop talking about it, like, if you want to give back, sure, whatever, but, like, don't make sure your message, don't make content around it, don't do this, like, it's just making things muddy, and we're like, no, that's who we are, right, like, we're a real life family, this is our life.”
Instead of abandoning the company’s connection to T1D, Nick and his wife decided to give it a dedicated identity. Onboard by Palmr now serves as the home for Palmr’s T1D-focused products, content, and community. It remains part of the Palmr family but has its own social media presence and a clearer mission. The new structure allows Palmr to continue growing as a Florida lifestyle brand while Onboard speaks directly to families and individuals affected by T1D. Early reactions have been positive, and Nick said the focused social media content is already reaching more people in the diabetes community.
Finding Hope in Diabetes Research
For Nick, hope for the future comes from meeting the people working behind the scenes to transform diabetes care.
Approximately a year and a half ago, his family was invited to tour the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami. Walking through the facility, meeting scientists, and hearing why they had dedicated their careers to T1D research changed his perspective.
“Let me tell you, that was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever seen in my life. Like, touring the facility, meeting the people, the doctors, researchers, and everything, it blew my mind. And it gave me so much hope.”
Some researchers were living with T1D themselves. Others had entered the field because their children had been diagnosed. Their personal connections to the disease made a powerful impression on Nick. Although he understands that a cure may not come immediately, Nick left believing it will happen within Parker and Evie’s lifetimes.
This experience also strengthened his commitment to supporting the T1D community.
“It was the passion of hearing these researchers talk about it. And it honestly got me even more just fired up and wanting to support the community and do more for it because it's just their passion fueled us at the end of the day.”
A Message to T1D Researchers
When asked what he would want researchers funded by Diabetes Research Connection to know, Nick began with gratitude.
“I mean, first off, thank you! It blows my mind that they're dedicating their life to this. They’re trying to find the cure that I pray every day is going to come for my kids.”
He knows research can be a long and difficult process, and that breakthroughs are often built through years of work that families may never see.
“Keep at it! I know it's been a long journey. Some have been working on this for 30 plus years, maybe longer, but every day I feel like it's getting closer and closer, but I just encourage them to keep going.”
Families like Nick’s may not be present in the laboratory, but they are standing behind the researchers working toward better treatments and a cure.
“And all of us are supporting them in background, through and long.”
Nick’s Advice to T1D Parents: Find Your Community
Looking back, Nick’s biggest regret is waiting nearly nine years to become involved in the broader T1D community. For years, he knew only one other family raising a child with diabetes. Although they supported each other, Nick did not realize how many local organizations, conferences, parent groups, and family resources existed.
His wife, a new step-parent who entered the family eager to learn everything she could about T1D, encouraged them to meet other parents. Eventually, they connected with Touched by Type 1, an Orlando-based organization that offers conferences, events, and support for the diabetes community. That connection introduced Parker and Evie to other children who understood their experiences and gave Nick and his wife a network of parents who understood the realities of raising children with T1D.
“If you're not involved with a local community, type 1 diabetes community, go get involved. If there's one mistake that I made early on, it was not getting involved.”
Today, the family attends events such as Friends for Life, where familiar faces and shared experiences have created a genuine sense of belonging. Nick encourages parents to seek out local organizations and connect with communities where they can learn about new research, meet others affected by T1D, and see how families, donors, and scientists are working toward the same goal.
Keep the Momentum Going
Families like Nick’s are why progress in type 1 diabetes research matters. Every new idea, discovery, and breakthrough brings us closer to a future with better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
Here are three ways you can keep the momentum going:
Check out insulin-pump-friendly clothing from Palmr Style. Explore the Onboard collection for designs created with the realities of T1D in mind.
Donate to Diabetes Research Connection. Your support helps fund innovative early-career scientists working to prevent, better treat, and cure T1D.
Stay connected with DRC. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest research updates, events, community stories, and opportunities to get involved.
Together, we can keep the momentum moving for families like Nick’s and everyone affected by T1D.
Kaleigh Rhoads
Kaleigh brings a background in nonprofit leadership, science communication, and public engagement to her role at DRC. With a passion for making research accessible and meaningful, she supports the organization’s mission through strategic storytelling, social media campaigns, grant writing, and digital communications. Kaleigh recently completed her MSc in Science Communication and Public Engagement at the University of Edinburgh and is driven by a lifelong commitment to fostering compassionate, informed communities.
