Erin Doyle is going on a mission to Washington this summer.

While it may not match the hoopla associated with the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, the bright 13-year-old Littleton middle school student will be lobbying Congress, and, she hopes, the new president too, on the need for help in finding a cure for the devastation caused by juvenile diabetes.

Erin applied to take part in the biannual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children's Congress for a third time this year, and was selected as one of two representatives from Colorado to meet with members of Congress and other officials June 21-24.

"I'm realy excited and just, like being only two people selected from Coloraodo, that really amazed me, " Erin said, "I never thought that I would - it's like winning the lottery."

Erin will join 150 kids chosen from 1,500 diabetic children for the session.

They're going to fly us out there, and they've already bought the hotel rooms," she told YourHub.com.

Erin's type I diabetes was diagnosed after a trip to the emergency room when she was just eight years old, It was a month after her dad, Jefferson County Sheriff's Sergeant Patrick Doyle, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Patrick died of the disease just two months later.

Erin's mom, Cheryl Doyle, says at the time, she didn't realize what type 1 diabetes even was, and reflects "it was quite a bit to deal with, especially dealing with a husband who was going to pass away shortly."

Cheryl immediately faced new challenges besides being widowed with three children. Not the least was having to constantly monitor her daughter's blood sugar levels.

"Both Erin and I haven't slept through the night since I can remember," she says, "I'm always up in the middle of the night, checking blood sugars, usually twice a night. Her fingers are callused already by the number of finger pricks per day she goes through"

The family has been through the terror of emergencies when blood sugar levels were too high - and too low and the seizures and other complications they can cause.

But the disease doesn't slow Erin down

The youngest of three children, Erin likes to sing as well as act - she has performed in musical theater for some time and had a role in a training film for the Transportation Security Administration to teach screeners what they'll find in a carry-on bag of a diabetic, including the insulin pump, syringes, glucose monitors and other necessary equipment.

But especially, Erin likes to dance.

A former Irish dancer who performed widely, she now is learning ballroom dancing in addition to Latin styles. and would like to be a professional dancer and perhaps perform on 'Dancing with the Stars.'

Erin has taken her selection to heart and knows some of the group will be selected to make speeches to congressional members about the need for more research efforts.

"I'm not sure exactly what I will say, but something along the lines of every 32 seconds, a child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes," she said " ... that's it's a terrible disease and many kids die from it, and they suffer from it really badly and it makes their lives a lot worse."

And she's hopeful for one more thing.

"I want to see soon-to-be-president Barack O'bama."

Cheryl hasn't let adversity slow her down either. She is a member of the Rocky Mountain Road Warriors bicycle team that raises funds for juvenile diabetes on rides across the country. She wants everyone to know you can go to the web site www.jdrf.com to help raise funds for those rides.

"More and more kids are being diagnosed with type 1," Cheryl laments, "We have to find a cure - to me it's not an option - before i leave this earth, there's gonna be a cure - that's my promise to Erin."

Erin want to show leaders the many faces of people with Type 1 diabetes. One of the delegates' jobs is to build a scrapbook by Feb. 18.

Erin would like a photo, name and age of people with type 1, their age of diagnosis and any comments from as many type 1s as she can for that scrapbook.

If you can help, sent it to her in care of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation, ATTN: Erin Doyle's Scrapbook, 5613 DTC Parkway, Suite 810, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 by Feb. 6. You can also download it to her mom, Cheryl, at cdoyle1013@aol.com.