While 7-year-old Cassy Wiseman enjoys normal activities such as cheerleading and playing soccer, she faces more than any child should ever have to face — she has Type 1 diabetes.

Cassy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was only 4 years old.

Type 1 diabetes means her sugar levels have to be checked several times a day. “She sticks herself about four or five times a day to check her sugar,” said her mother, Amanda McLaren of Blanchester. “She eats, then gets shots of insulin in the arms, legs, belly and hips, alternating sites. She gets approximately four shots daily for snacks and meals, then one shot at bedtime.

Cassy’s father is Todd Wiseman of Leesburg.

Dream Factory recently granted Cassy her dream. When volunteers asked what her dream might be, she named several small items that she wanted. When volunteers suggested that she get a shopping spree, Cassy was thrilled to be going to the mall. When the big day arrived, she reserved one-half of her money to buy a bed. The remaining money was spent on clothes and toys.

After shopping, she treated her mother to dinner. Since Cassy’s dream was relatively small, volunteers later gave her an alternative wish — season passes to Kings Island with extra money for expenses and souvenirs.

McLaren said after Cassy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, she stayed a week at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati to learn how to care for her daughter. She later wrote, “My Daughter, My Inspiration.”

McLaren wrote: “From fingersticks to injections, how could I do this to my little girl? When it’s something you have to do to keep your child healthy, you just learn to do it.”

A second-grader at Putman Elementary School in Blanchester, Cassy is doing well academically, her mother said, and she has a “wonderful diabetic nurse, Mrs. Brenner.”

McLaren said Cassy’s sugar levels can affect her learning if they are too high or too low. The normal blood sugar level is 80 to 150. “When Cassy’s sugar gets low, under 80, she gets shaky and sick. If Cassy’s sugar is higher than 150, she gets dizzy, angry and confused,” McLaren said.

“We go to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital every three months to make sure Cassy’s sugar is under control,” McLaren said. “If necessary, doctors make adjustments to her medicine. It’s important to keep her sugar levels in range to prevent long-term complications to her health.”

Cassy has been a real inspiration for her mother. “With the years of poking and treatments, Cassy inspired me to go to college for medical assisting. She is a very brave, strong girl.”

McLaren said local volunteers from the Dream Factory have been a blessing to Cassy. “I cannot thank them enough for what they’ve done on behalf of the Dream Factory for my daughter.”

The Dream Factory grants dreams to children with serious or chronic medical problems. In the area, two dreams have recently been granted, one is now in progress and four more children have been referred to the non-profit organization.

Dreams are financed by donations, said Julia Curry of Wilmington.

Dream Factory volunteers are always looking for donations. Checks made out to Dream Factory may be sent to Curry at 94 Brown Road, Wilmington, 45177, or to Jenny Rogers, treasurer of the Southern Ohio Chapter, 191 Ross Drive, West Union, 45693.

Clinton County is part of the Southern Ohio Chapter.