Posted by Sandy Donchess on June 03, 1999 at 22:05:44:
I had to post this because I was so happy to get it ... Everyone out there, please, if you haven't yet written your Congress(wo)man a letter and sent it to the JDF Children's Congress, please do it NOW.
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Dear xxxxxxxxxxx,
I am writing this letter on behalf of Brian Donchess and other children in my care as their school nurse. Although diabetic children look the same as other children, they must live their life on a totally different plane. Never a day goes by that the diabetic child doesn't have to think about every mouthful of food that enters his mouth; he must be constantly monitoring how he feels - is his blood sugar too high or too low? He must take daily injections of insulin and monitor his blood glucose levels closely by doing finger stick tests several times each day. Only by living the most disciplined lifestyle and by being constantly vigilant can a diabetic live a "normal" life. All members of his family, his school "family", his doctors, coaches, and friends must be involved with helping him be successful as a student, an athlete, an artist or whatever it is that makes him a complete and whole person.
Brian is a very bright student and is very knowledgeable about his diabetes. He is most successful in managing his diabetes. Unfortunately there are still many factors that are unknown and out of his control no matter how carefully he manages his condition. The long term affects of diabetes on his health and that of all other diabetics is always uncertain: the possibility of eye disease, heart or kidney disease, nerve damage, diabetic coma... the list goes on... is always a possibility. Our plea is for continued intensive research and development of a cure for this disease. It could happen in our lifetime, and we pray that it will. Please do all that you can to support increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health to continue research to cure diabetes.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
School Nurse