Young diabetes activist schools Washington leaders on struggles

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 30, 2007 | by JESSICA SIDMAN THE GAZETTE

Katelyn Littlefield was training for a black belt in karate when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, shortly before her 10th birthday.

The blond, blue-eyed 11-year-old is now taking her combat skills to a different level. She was among 150 children nationwide with type 1 diabetes chosen to represent the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Children's Congress in Washington, D.C., June 17-20. The children are fighting to renew a $150 million bill toward type 1 diabetes research that is set to expire at the end of the year.

Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, inhibits the pancreas's ability to produce insulin, a hormone that controls the body's blood sugar levels. More than 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, and 15,000 more youths and adolescents are diagnosed each year, according to a national study by SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, released June 26 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The young delegates attended a Congressional hearing on type 1 diabetes research funding, and some testified about their own struggles.

"It was a very moving and very powerful display of courage on the part of the kids, some of whom were very, very young," JDRF spokesman Peter Cleary said.

Katelyn shared a photo album chronicling her daily life with diabetes with aides of Colorado legislators to secure their votes for continued diabetes funding. She received a "yes" from Sen. Ken Salazar, but she's still working to get a commitment from Sen. Wayne Allard and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

"I was a little bit nervous, but when I got going I completely forgot about the fact that I was nervous, and I was just glad that they were listening to me," Katelyn said.

Katelyn was selected as a delegate after going through an application process and writing an essay about her desire to find a cure for diabetes.

"Us adults are a dime a dozen and all we do is talk. And they don't listen to us. They don't," says Teresa Littlefield, Katelyn's mother. "These are the kids that are dealing with this on a daily basis, and they get right into these legislators' faces and say, 'Look at me. I am your reason for doing this.'"

Diabetes has transformed Katelyn's life. Now she can't eat cookies or karate chop without thinking twice about her blood sugar levels. Her fingertips, with nails painted a glimmery blue, are bruised from blood checks that she must do four to six times every day.

Under her pink shirt with horses, she wears an insulin pump infused under her skin to regulate glucose levels. She prefers it to the alternative -- six shots of insulin a day.

"Kids don't need to give shots and check blood sugars and all that," Katelyn says. "They should just be able to have fun."

Though she began home schooling last year, Katelyn was the only diabetic in her elementary school, forcing her to educate her peers about the condition.

"They would act strange around me because they would think that if they got too close, you would catch it. And it hurt my feelings," Katelyn said.

Now she's out to educate the bigwigs. Katelyn meets monthly with the local JDRF youth council and walks annually in the Walk to Cure Diabetes, and her family mentors other families that are dealing with diabetes for the first time. She is also part of a JDRF campaign to gain diabetes research supporters and has already signed up more than 280 advocates -- more than any other kid at the Children's Congress.

In fact, Katelyn hopes to make diabetes education her career. But in the meantime, she's back on the mat, preparing for a second black belt.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0367 or jessica.sidman@gazette.com