Article Contributed on: 7/1/2009 5:44:19 PM
Littleton middle school student Erin Doyle got her wish - she met President Barack Obama - and Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers to boot, as well as telling our leaders about juvenile diabetes.
Doyle was one of two Colorado delegates picked for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Children's Congress in Washington D.C.June 21 through 24. The annual effort is designed to increase awareness of the impact of Type 1 diabetes, especially on the lives of children.
Erin and about 150 other children with the disease spoke with members of Congress about their experiences and the need for more funding to find a cure.
YourHub.com wrote about the mission to Washington, D.C. Erin and her mom were making this summer back in January:
http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Post-a-Story.aspx?contentid=570176 .
The following is Erin's account of the experience:
"There was this aide to Rep. (Mike) Coffman and he didn't know much about Diabetes, and he kept on getting Type 1 mixed with Type 2," said Erin.
" I liked talking to people about my disease. I like informing them about the difference between the two and telling them what I have to do to make sure that my blood sugars stay in the range (70-120) And it made me really happy to see that the aide was taking notes about what my mom and I were telling him. You could tell that he was very interested. it was fun to go and I wish I can go again."
"I also got to meet Nick Jonas ( of the Jones Brothers)and President Obama! When we first met them we were at the White House. Because our group was so large, only the kids could go, unless the child was under seven. We got to take a group photo with them and Sugar Ray Leonard and Mary Tyler Moore. When Nick Jonas came everyone started screaming, especially the girls ... but when President Obama came, everyone was clapping and hooting and hollering. President Obama joked around with it. I am glad that he was able to take time out of his busy day to meet with us, even though it was about ten minutes total."
Erin's mom, Cheryl Doyle, is a tireless volunteer for the JDRF, and was impressed with how well run the Children's Congress effort was. Here are her comments:
"The Children's Congress was run with military precision with each of us being given specific contact details with members of Congress from each delegate's respective State.
Our first stop was with Representative Coffman. Because of busy schedules of the Congressional delegations, we spoke to aides in each office. I was so impressed with the staffs of our Congressional delegation, especially Steve Beck with Representative's Coffman's office. He did not know much about Type 1 diabetes and like many seemed to confuse Type 1 with Type 2. However, he listened to us, took notes and was sincerely concerned. He followed up with questions showing his interest in the issue. We gave Rep. Coffman a scrapbook that included stories from other children and adults with Type 1 diabetes, some of them already experiencing complications from the disease, like blindness and kidney failure.
Erin gave Steve information regarding the life of a diabetic, including numerous shots, finger pokings, insulin pump operations and complications of the disease. I gave Steve information regarding a recent published study that predicts that the incidence of Type 1 is expected to double in the next decade. Many children are now being diagnosed with Type 1 who have no genetic history of this tragic autoimmune disease. Researchers are discovering that environmental factors (viruses among them), are triggering the immune systems in children to attack and destroy the pancreatic beta cells. Diabetes related expenses uses about one third of the Medicaid budget. It is one of the most expensive chronic disease to treat.
Erin and I also met with aides from Sen. (Michael) Bennett's and Sen. (Mark) Udall's office, who were familiar with the disease because it affected a member in their family.
But, given our experience with JDRF and Children's Congress and the overwhelming support of many parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles of the children with Type 1 who do not rest from their efforts in providing the path to a cure, I have no doubt that a cure for Type 1 will occur in my lifetime and that one day, Erin and others like her will be free of this disease.
Also, Colorado citizens are blessed to have The Barbara Davis Juvenile Diabetes Center in the Denver metro area. Many from as far away as California and Texas come for quarterly visits. The University of Colorado Health Science Center is also a leading research facility for Type 1 diabetes. UCHSC had documented the increase in diagnosis a couple years back and this recent study that I referenced earlier sadly confirms the UCHSC's earlier discovery."
More more information on juvenile diabetes, go to the JDRF Web site
http://www.jdrf.org or the Barbara Davis Juvenile Diabetes Center at
http://www.childrensdiabetesfoundation.org.