Meet the 2008 JDRF Capitol Youth Ambassadors
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Caner has been managing his diabetes since age 3 – he is now 12. He has learned so much about keeping himself healthy and helping others to understand what he and so many kids with type 1 diabetes go through. Caner is in 6th grade and adjusting to middle school which means he visits the nurse only once a day now (except in an emergency) and self carries a blood sugar meter, monitoring himself. At school, Caner is considered an example for other kids to follow because of how well he deals with his own medical condition. He is often asked by his teachers or other parents to help another child deal with an illness, injury, or upcoming scary medical test. He is happy to help other kids feel better about what they have to go through. Caner excels in his favorite subject–art! He won a blue ribbon for a watercolor he did at the Charles County Fair last month.
Caner loves soccer and is a starter on the middle school boy’s team at his school. He is still a leader and his coach quite often uses him as an example to the other boys because Caner does not let his diabetes get him down and he is always willing to try anything.
Though Caner is using his experience with diabetes in a positive way, negative consequences of the disease are still very present in his life. Caner loves to run and swim, but all of the exercise he does has its price. Caner has to be monitored very closely during physical activities and for up to 24 hour afterwards, since he often experiences low blood sugar levels, which can make him feel sick. Relatively “normal” childhood illnesses like the flu which keep most kids home from school for a few days can, and have, resulted in hospitalization for Caner. This happens even with a routine illness if Caner can’t keep his blood sugar levels in check because he isn’t able to eat properly. Caner wants to keep moving forward, but sometimes type 1 diabetes holds him back.
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Skylar has been living in a family with diabetes since she was 5 - she is now 14. When her brother, Caner was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 3, life in her family changed completely. PopTarts and sugared cereals were replaced with healthy, sugar free alternatives. Skylar learned to read nutrition labels at the age of 5 and today usually has a healthier lunch than most of her friends. Trips away from home take more planning and preparation than before, and diabetes is always the first consideration when a holiday rolls around. A trip to Disney World once got off to a late start when insulin was accidentally left behind and phone calls to doctors back home had to be made to have a prescription called in to a pharmacy in Florida. Several stressful hours later the vacation was allowed to begin.
Skylar is in 9th grade and a starter on the varsity girl’s soccer team, a sport her brother also loves. Skylar once wrote a paper for school on the discovery of insulin and how it was a triumph in history for people with diabetes. She ended that paper by saying "the true triumph for my brother and all the kids like him will be the day a cure is found".
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Dylan was two when his sister, Sara, she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes - so this is pretty much all he can remember about his sister. He doesn't like having to go to all of her games or other events with his parents (because they worry about her blood sugar levels dropping with the activities), while all of her teammates just get dropped off. He doesn't like that she has to stop what she is doing to check her blood sugar or get a shot. He doesn't like it when she feels low, and needs a snack. He hates it when her sugars are high and she feels sick. And, he doesn't like the fact that he has to get checked every year, just to be sure that he does not have diabetes. He has learned a lot about diabetes and can even help with counting Sara's carbs. But he doesn't want to have to do that forever.
Dylan LOVES sports. He plays ice hockey, baseball, basketball and swims. His favorite teams are the Redskins, Patriots, Red Sox and Capitals. He hopes to become a baseball player when he grows up. Because of his sister's diabetes, Dylan has met several professional coaches and athletes at various JDRF functions. But to him, that is the only "good" part about Sara's diabetes.
Dylan is big part of Sara's JDRF walk team, Sara's Soldiers. He helps raise money and has been getting his friends and their families to walk and raise money with us. He volunteers at the JDRF's Virginia walk and helps out at other venues whenever he can. He even encourages his friends to participate in his school's Walk to Cure Diabetes. He wants a cure to be found so it will help not only his sister, but the millions of others living with this disease. He wants to see this happen, because he KNOWS a CURE will be found.
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At a young age, Sara discovered a passion for stories. At 5 years old, she wrote her first book -- quite a feat for a young girl just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes! Now at 10, Sara still has a love for stories–reading them, writing them and telling them. Sara has embraced her experience with diabetes as a way to help others become more educated about what she and so many others deal with on a daily basis. She even starred in a public service announcement and served as the 2006 Walk to Cure Diabetes Family chair for JDRF. Sara has had a positive experience with the insulin pump; she does not have to get as many shots during the day. Her days are busy for sure—she participates in soccer, basketball, and swimming, loves arts and crafts, and is part of a Girl Scout Troop. This past summer, Sara attended an overnight diabetes camp. She spent the whole week bonding with kids her age that also have type 1 diabetes. Sara had such a great time; she recommends the camp to every kid!
Despite Sara’s enthusiasm, she still deals with the effects of diabetes on a daily basis. Sara will always be “different from other kids,” as she puts it, and restricted in her independence. While all of her peers are eating and drinking without a care, Sara visits the nurse at school twice a day, and can’t eat and drink at parties without her parents there to supervise. She often feels sick if her blood sugar is too high or low. Although she is grateful for her insulin pump, it’s still a burden to wear the pump’s pack at all times–even at night. Sara’s attitude toward managing her diabetes is great, but despite all of her good wishes, diabetes still takes a toll.
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9-year-old Makenna, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at only 8 months of age. This means that unlike most children who remember a difference in their daily lives between the time before and after they were diagnosed with diabetes, Makenna really does not know what life is like without the disease. In some ways, this is helpful. Growing up with diabetes from an early age has helped Makenna recognize slight changes in her blood sugar and thus take care of things before she suffers more severe symptoms. She also feels at ease talking about diabetes with others and serves as a resource for kids her age who have recently been diagnosed. Makenna and her family have been involved with the Walk to Cure Diabetes for the past 7 years, serving as the 2006 Family Team Chair and other volunteer roles. Makenna has also been a featured speaker at the 2007 Congressional Diabetes Caucus Medical Technologies Diabetes Fair and the 2007 JDRF Palm Night.
Though diabetes has been a “normal” part of Makenna’s life for some time, it still fills her days with a lot of extra things. Since her diagnosis, Makenna has received over 15,000 insulin injections and over 20,000 finger pricks to check her blood sugar. She and other children with diabetes often have to miss class for short periods to make sure their diabetes is under control. Her parents are constantly worrying that they may have forgotten a supply crucial to keeping Makenna healthy—even when things are going along smoothly, her family still needs to have everything required to treat an emergency. A relatively common illness like the flu also presents scary complications for children like Makenna. If she is not able to eat normally, managing her blood sugar levels becomes very difficult and can lead to hospitalization. Keeping Makenna healthy requires diligence, even when she’s sleeping. Makenna and her parents are doing their best not to let diabetes get in the way, but the reality is that sometimes it does.