Welcome to my Journal on diabetes.org!

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Hello everyone!

This is my first entry for the National Youth Advocate online journal. I am so excited to be the Youth Advocate for the American Diabetes Association. In this role, I will travel around the US, and get to meet all you teens and kids. I can't wait to get to know you! The reason I wanted to become the NYA was to help you, as we're all kids living with diabetes. Or, if you just want to talk about whatever you are going through, that'd be great as well. NEVER hesitate to email me at nya@diabetes.org. You can also write letters to me at:

National Youth Advocate
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311

Well a little about myself. My name is Justin Harris and I am 15 years old. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 6 years old. It was caused by a ruptured appendix that spread to my pancreas, causing it to not produce any insulin. I spent three months in the hospital while the doctors tried to find out what was going on inside of me.

I play tennis competitively in the southern part of the US. I love playing tennis, but sometimes it is hard to keep my blood sugar regulated during my tennis matches. At first, it took me a while to see what my sugar was going to do during my match -- whether it was going to go low with this amount of insulin, or high with this amount of carbohydrates. I now have it regulated so it doesn't go wacko during my matches.

My interests include politics, government, and lobbying. I love to read books about different politicians and learn how they got to be where they are today. I like visiting different state capitols and seeing how their architecture is different from the architecture of my state capitol, here in Frankfort, Kentucky.

I also enjoy lobbying because it's a good way to catch your senators, representatives, governors, or other government officials in the hallway when they are not in the office. They have very busy schedules: they are either in session, having other meetings, or taking a lunch break! Haha!!

My experience with talking to my representatives is simple: keep it short and to the point. Tell them your main objective for meeting with them, and how/why you want them to do something about it. Remember they have busy schedules and meet countless people. You might want to send them a follow-up letter, restating what you were trying to say and to thank them for all that they have done. Maybe they have voted for the stem cell research bill or maybe they were a representative and they voted for H.R. 810. Remember, you can always send your government officials a letter telling them what you want to tell them and thanking them for what they have done. They always like to be thanked; that lets them know they are appreciated by their constituents.

No question about it ... diabetes is a hard thing to live with. But no worries mate, you will learn to live with it. If you and your families have any questions about diabetes, the first place to go would be the ADA. They are a great resource, and they can help you with most things that you have questions on. Call 1-800-DIABETES and speak with a representative. They take calls in English and Spanish.

I also recommend locating your local ADA office and seeing what's going on in your community. You can find all kinds of great things in your community, from fund-raising events like America's Walk for Diabetes or Tour de Cure, to support groups and patient education classes.

One other great resource I want you to know about are the message boards on this Web site. They have a message board for so many things, even one for teens. Check them out.

For now!!

I'd like to hear from you! Email me at nya@diabetes.org.

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