Caroline Simms went to bed one night in 2011 and didn't wake up the next day.

Caroline, who was 10 years old at the time, had slipped into a diabetic coma. She woke up in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

Seven years later, Caroline, her twin sister, Liz, and their friend, Camden Seybert, are holding a 5k to raise awareness and help find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

“We're just hoping to raise as much money for (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) as possible,” Caroline said. “Obviously, we're hoping to educate people more about Type 1 Diabetes, because a lot of people don't know a lot about that disease and there are a lot of assumptions that are made toward it.”

The 5k run/walk will be held 8:30 a.m. Aug. 12 at Butler Memorial Park. It is the latest in a long line of charity work that the three teenagers have done over the years.

Caroline, who is 17 years old and will be a junior at Butler High School this fall, has been involved in charities since she was a young girl, first at her church's rummage sale and later for JDRF.

Part of her goal is to eliminate the stigma that comes with Type 1 Diabetes.

“Whenever I was first diagnosed I thought it was that you couldn't eat sugar,” Caroline said. “That's what you think of when you don't know anything about diabetes.”

Caroline soon learned that Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that causes one's body to stop producing insulin. It had nothing to do with eating poorly or living an unhealthy lifestyle, as can be the case with Type 2 Diabetes.

The only way to fix it is daily shots of insulin.

“I was really, really scared,” Caroline said. “I was a 10-year-old girl who was just told she's in a hospital (and was) in a coma. I remember I was starving because I hadn't eaten for about three days before I had gone to the hospital because I was sick.”

Caroline's fear, however, did not keep her from learning to live with the disease.

“I was very independent,” she said. “I was like, 'I want to learn how to do it, because I'm going to have to do this for the rest of my life.”

She benefited from supportive friends, but she also was excluded from birthday parties because her friends' parents made assumptions about Type 1 Diabetes and didn't want anything to happen to Caroline on their watch.

Rather than make her bitter, this adversity only softened her heart.

“I realized people go through things and you don't even realize it sometimes, because you don't see it,” Caroline said. “It's in them, you don't see it physically. That made me much more compassionate from a young age.”

Caroline is able to manage her disease with low-carbohydrate meals, eating vegetables, and exercising on a normal basis. She said her healthy lifestyle is how everyone should be living.

She still can have her favorites, such as Sprite or pasta, in moderation, and she ensures to monitor her insulin daily.

Though her diabetes can create complications, Caroline still is able to play tennis for Butler High School.

“I never really let it hold me back,” she said. “Everything I want to do, I'm still able to do.”

Liz, 17, admires her twin sister's determination.

“It was really inspiring to me, because what Caroline has to go through every day, I don't have to go through anything like that,” she said.

Camden, 18, will be a senior this fall at Butler High School and is a track and field athlete, along with Liz, who will be a junior.

Camden was inspired by a charity golf outing his cousins run, and wanted to do something similar.

When he went to Liz with the idea of holding a 5k for charity, Liz knew exactly what cause she wanted the run/walk to benefit: raising awareness for and finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Camden, Liz and Caroline have been preparing the 5k themselves, because they want to gain valuable experience from planning a large event.

Their preparation has included acquiring sponsorships, promoting the 5k, securing insurance for the event, mapping out the 3.1 mile route, and getting T-shirts for participants.

Camden expects donations from sponsors to cover the cost of holding the event. The benefits from the 5k and leftover proceeds from sponsors will be given to JDRF.

The cost of the event is $25, and a small transaction fee. The first 100 people to register will get a T-shirt, and race winners will be awarded trophies.

To make donations or to register, visit runsignup.com/Race/PA/Butler/racediabetes.

Camden hopes to get people around his age to participate in the 5k, and for the event to be good for the city.

“I just think people need to get more involved in the community,” he said. “More events like this will help the area.”