HEALTH
Mr Ettinger Goes To Washington
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Hi, my name is Sam Ettinger and I am a member of the Delaware Branch of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I have Type 1 Diabetes. Through the Delaware Branch of JDRF, I had the great opportunity to participate in the 6th annual JDRF Children’s Congress. My mother and I took the train from the Wilmington train station into Washington DC. We stayed at the downtown Marriott with the rest of the 152 delegates, 147 from the US and the five international ones.
Each Congress the group of kids gets together with Jane Adams who is a celebrity advocate and professional composer, Alan Siverstr. As a group we performed “Promise to Remember Me”. This was my least favorite activity since I don’t like to sign and several of the parents cried during our performance.
Next we had our pictures taken with Brian Kenny from ESPN. His daughter has type I diabetes. Pictures were taken by state and I was the lone representative from Delaware. Mr. Kenny was very nice. I enjoyed meeting him.
That evening the opening banquet took place. Several awards were given out to individuals who have been very active with JDRF. Each delegate had to go on stage and introduce themselves as well. It was a very welcoming experience.
The next morning we had to get up early so we could be assigned to a group of ten to walk over to the white house! On the patio and staircase of the South Lawn we lined up to have a photo taken with the President. While we were waiting, Nick Jonas, Mary Tyler Moore, and Sugar Ray Leonard met with us. It was awesome getting an invitation to the White House. After lunch which was the sponsor luncheon, we had Blitz Training Sessions. Delta airlines, LifeScan, Bayer and Eli Lilly were recognized for their support of JDRF. On Wednesday we met with our representatives and asked them to remember us when legislation about diabetes came up. Following a short break it was off to a town hall meeting. On the panel were Kalilah Allen-Harris, Miss Black USA 2007, Alisa Weilerstein, a famous cellist, who performed for us, Jarad Allen, (who doesn’t have Type I but has made it his cause) and Dr. Aaron Kowalski who is the JDRF Program Director for Metabolic Control and the Research Director of the JDRF Artificial Pancreas Project. Mr. Kenny was the moderator and the delegates got to ask the questions. So many people truly care about making a difference.
Early Wednesday morning we were off to Capital Hill for a LIVE Senate Hearing. Mary Tyler Moore, Nick Jonas, and Sugar Ray Leonard and Dr. Griffin Rodgers testified about their experiences with type I diabetes. The next part of the hearing was testimony by delegates including Ellen Gould, a mom from Nashville who has four children with type I. Following the hearing I met with Representative Castle, Senator Carper and Senator Kaufman. I made each of them a scrape-book of my life with diabetes. One of my favorite things was going into the Capitol Building to see Representative Castle, his aide gave my mom and I a special tour.
I couldn’t believe when it was time to leave. The three days flew by. I met a lot of really nice kids and celebrities. It was a special time and one I will not soon forget. My mom totally loved going and meeting so many people. She talked to everyone and thanked all the JDRF special friends for their participation. Thanks for allowing me to represent Delaware, it was a privilege and unique time. I even admitted to my mom that I wished it would have lasted longer!!
Kids like me who live with type 1 diabetes are active and involved in bringing education to our lawmakers and ensuring that they remember us when they make legislation. I hope all of you will remember us by walking in the 2009 Walk to Cure Diabetes on October 18th in Rockford Park. It’s easy to sign up and registration is free. You don’t have to have type 1 to come, you just have to want to be a part of our PA/DE community and realize we can all make a difference.
*photo at top of page is the author with Representative Mike Castle - Delaware
