Dana Tessler
"We moved to Eugene when I was 11," says Dana
Tessler, whose family had previously lived "all over New Jersey." After
high school at South Eugene, she left for Colorado, planning to
establish residency. Instead, she returned to study anthropology at the
University of Oregon while working four part-time jobs in food service
and bookkeeping. She graduated, then started work as a once-a-month
bookkeeper at Rainbow Valley Design and Construction. "I became a
partner four years later, in 1993," she says. "I'm the only woman among
nine partners." She also got pregnant in a relationship that ended and
gave birth to a daughter, Elliana, becoming a single mom in 1995. "I
raised her and brought her to work," she says. "She grew up in the
construction business." At age 11, Elliana got sick and spent eight
days in the hospital, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. "It was
earth-shattering," says Tessler. "Most people don't understand the
impact on daily life, the anxiety and isolation." T1D treatment
requires around-the-clock monitoring of blood sugar levels and
injections of insulin. In 2011, Tessler started a parents' group called
Mama I'm Low, offering monthly parent group meetings, peer mentoring,
and free recreation opportunities for families with children who have
T1D. "I printed fliers to spread the word," she says. "It caught on
after a year or so." Mama I'm Low gained non-profit staus in 2015 and
entered a partnership with the City of Eugene's Adaptive Recreation
Department in 2017. Learn about upcoming meetings and events at
mamaimlow.com. Elliana Tessler, a South Eugene grad like her mom, is
currently a student in the Family and Human Services Program at the UO.
happening people
photograph and story by Paul Neevel
Eugene Weekly / 8 February 2018
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