A young artist hopes to see one of his designs whoosh by at more than 300 miles per hour.

Grayson Hughbanks almost missed the deadline for a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation contest that invited creative students to design a race car paint job. The winner travels to Denver to watch a National Hot Rod Association race that includes a Ford Mustang funny car bearing the contestant’s paint scheme. The contest was open to type 1 diabetics such as Grayson, who is the only finalist from Oregon.

His design features a fighter jet blasting through the sky. The creation fits Grayson’s need for speed — he is a sprinter on the PHS track team — and illustrates his patriotic bent. The Pendleton High School sophomore dreams of a career as a comic book artist or book illustrator.

Grayson is one of approximately three million Americans who live with type 1 diabetes. His pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, a hormone necessary to extract energy from food. He must interrupt his teenage life multiple times each day to measure blood sugar and give himself insulin injections. While his friends eat what they want, Grayson carefully considers the consequences of everything he puts in his mouth.

If his blood sugar drops too low, he could pass out. Too high and he gets nauseated. Participating in sports, such as track, adds additional complications.

Actress Mary Tyler Moore, who chairs the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, describes the life of a diabetic as the ultimate balancing act.

“Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dietitians all rolled into one,” she wrote on the organization’s website. “We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive.”

Despite the effort required to find that sweet spot in blood-glucose level, Grayson said he doesn’t let the condition dominate his life.

“It’s always in the back of the mind, but you kind of get used to it,” he said.

Also in the back of his mind is hope for a cure someday. Money donated by fans of the young artists will fund type 1 diabetes research to find such a cure.

Grayson said he chose a military jet for his subject after he heard the theme was “Our Everyday Heroes.” The goal was to honor those serve and have served in the military, including members of his own family.

“They are unsung heroes,” Grayson said.

The contest was open to students from ages 5 to 18. Since Pendleton doesn’t have a JDRF chapter, the Portland group is listed as Grayson’s sponsor.

Online voting will continue until April 25. Judges from JDRF and sponsors Motorcraft and Quick Lane Tire and Auto Centers will select the winning entry from the top 10 money raisers. So far, Grayson’s design has $407 in donations, which puts him around 15th. To see the design, go to fordracecar.jdrf.org.

The winner will travel to Denver for the Mile High NHRA Nations where drag racer Bob Tasca III will drive a Mustang sporting the winning design.

Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.

This story originally appeared in East Oregonian.

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