I am a very lucky girl. This year I was invited to be a part of the JDRF Children’s Congress. This event only happens every two years, and what they do is they brings kids with Type 1 Diabetes from all of the United States, (and even the WORLD!!!) to Washington DC so we will have the chance to tell lawmakers our personal stories about living with T1D. And we hope that our stories will make an impact on them so they will support research for the CURE!!!

I got to go with two really neat people…Bobby is like my little brother now. He’s also from Georgia, and he’s so funny and busy. Sometimes we would be walking around the hotel and we would see Bobby kicking a soccer ball in the lobby. He always made me laugh!! The other special friend is named Emma, and she is from Australia. There were six international delegates, and I was lucky enough to be paired with Emma because we have a lot in common…like we both love theatre and musicals. We got along like sisters and I love her so much.

Okay so now I should talk about the real reason we were there…like I said we were there to tell our stories and to make a difference! We learned that because we live with T1D every second of every day that we have a voice. And people will listen to us! And guess what?!!!? That is exactly what happened. On our last day we went to Capitol Hill and we got to meet with Senator Perdue’s staff member, Congressman Doug Collins, and Senator Isakson. They were all so sweet as we showed them a scrapbook that we had made and talked about what it was like to live with T1D. And here’s the important part…we were asking them to support a bill that would require Medicare to pay for continuous glucose monitors to help older people with T1D. We also told them ‘Thank You’ for supporting the Special Diabetes Program. So we were there with a purpose.

Me and Emma and Bobby ran around Capitol Hill so much to make all of those meetings that we all three went low at one point. Thankfully all of the Georgia lawmakers had peanuts and Coca-colas in their offices!!!

The last thing we did before we said goodbye to our new friends (tearfully!!!) was we attended a Special Senate Hearing about the Medicare CGM Act. Two of our delegates gave testimony (and they did a GREAT job!!!) and the rest of us sat on the floor in this round pit so the Senators could see us. They said we were well-behaved. And since it was a two-hour meeting then that says a lot.
Oh my gosh, so much happened in those three days that I could go on and on. But I have some homework for school to do, and it’s time for me to sign off. But I will say that JDRF talked to us about ‘Advocacy After’. Now that they have worked with us, they want us to continue to advocate for research to support better treatments, the prevention and the cure for Type 1. So that’s what I’m going to do! Who wants to meet with us next? Bobby and I will be there!!!

From: Mary Morgan

P.S. I have always wanted to be a wedding planner when I grow up, but now I think I might want to work for JDRF. They’re awesome.