Someone You Should Know: Alexys Fleming, Champion For Diabetes Research
(CBS) -- She's a social media phenomenon and a talented artist.
But, Alexys Fleming, who is only in her early 20s, is also a champion fundraiser for the cause of raising awareness about diabetes.
Meet the High Blood Sugar Goblin, the nemesis of anyone suffering from diabetes. But there's always hope in the house when The Injector appears, to heroically save the day.
Both are portrayed by 21-year-old Alexys Fleming of suburban Algonquin, the writer, producer, photographer, makeup artist and director of much-watched YouTube videos -- a serial epic dedicated to raising awareness and answering questions about diabetes.
Diagnosed with the condition at age 13, she must check her blood sugars through the day and take insulin. She decided to work at raising awareness after being bullied in school by kids who did not know about diabetes.
Late October, she launched her YouTube channel. It quickly attracted an audience far beyond her expectations.
Now, she loads four days a week, recording video on an ordinary camera, editing on a laptop computer, and applying her make takes seven hours.
She now has 700,000 viewers who watch her videos in every part of the world. She is ranked as the highest online fundraiser for diabetes in the country. A super celebrity, she was recently featured on the cover and in an article in a British magazine.
Alexys Fleming and many others will be at next week's Step Out walks for diabetes. It's Saturday, Sept. 20 at Didier Farms in Buffalo Grove, and the following day in Grant Park.
For more information, go to diabetes.org.