[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23882]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               IN RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN DIABETES MONTH

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                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2008

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, as we approach November, American 
Diabetes Month', I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize the significant daily challenges faced by those struggling 
with chronic diseases such as diabetes. At a time when our Nation is 
facing urgent crises from the economy to foreign policy, some Americans 
may wonder why it is important to worry about diabetes. The fact is 
that diabetes has become one of the most urgent public health crises of 
the 21st century. More than 24 million children and adults in the U.S. 
are already bearing the daily consequences of living with diabetes, and 
the numbers continue to grow.
  Diabetes comes in 2 main forms: Type 1 diabetes, or ``juvenile 
diabetes,'' often develops in children, adolescents, and young adults; 
and Type 2 diabetes, which typically develops after age 40, but is 
appearing with increasing, and alarming, frequency in children. 
Although the causes of type 1 diabetes are not entirely known, it is 
not caused by obesity or by eating excessive sugar. There is a crucial 
and continuing need for research on the causes, prevention, treatment 
and cure of Type I Diabetes. That is why I am so pleased to have 
supported the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 
2008, which extended the Special Diabetes Program and the Special 
Diabetes Program for Indians through September 30, 2011, and provided 
$300 million for type 1 diabetes research.
  According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, an estimated 
15,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 
the U.S. each year. These are children like 8-year-old Sophie Baum, a 
young constituent of mine who was diagnosed with diabetes as a baby and 
spent her first birthday in the Intensive Care Unit being treated for 
her illness. Sophie has benefited from research advances such as the 
insulin pump and continuous glucose sensor, but must contend with the 
complexities of life as a diabetic, in which every trip to the kitchen 
table or even a birthday party requires counting carbohydrates and 
calculating the right amount of insulin. I am pleased to submit her 
story, as told to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in the 
record below.
  We must also take steps to better prevent and manage Type 2 diabetes, 
which accounts for 90 to 95 percent of cases of diabetes. Unlike Type 1 
diabetes, the risk for Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with the 
epidemic of overweight and obesity that threatens to overwhelm our 
increasingly strained health care system. According to the Juvenile 
Diabetes Research Foundation, medical costs for diabetes in the U.S. 
amount to $174 billion per year, and nearly \1/3\ of every Medicare 
dollar is spent on people with diabetes. The good news is that, in many 
cases, Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. The NIH-funded 
Diabetes Prevention Program showed that modest weight loss (5 to 7 
percent of body weight) and 30 minutes of exercise 5 times per week can 
reduce the risk of diabetes by 58 percent.
  Sophie's story and the overwhelming national statistics on diabetes 
speak for themselves. Therefore, let us commit to a comprehensive 
approach to addressing diabetes and other chronic diseases through 
prevention, education, treatment, and research that we hope one day 
will find a cure.

       Hi, my name is Sophie Baum. When I was a baby--not even 12 
     months old--one of my baby teachers, who had diabetes, 
     noticed I was drinking a lot, and stealing other kids' sippy 
     cups. She thought I looked sick, so she told my mom to take 
     me to the hospital that night.
       We went to the hospital, where they did a lot of tests, and 
     figured out I had diabetes. I spent my first birthday in the 
     intensive care unit. The nurses were feeling sad that I was 
     in the hospital, so they bought me a doll. I was given a 
     glucometer so I could check my blood sugars.
       I was on insulin shots for a long time, but I was given a 
     bear, and it showed where you can put the shots in. I had to 
     eat meals at the same time every day.
       When I was 2, I got an insulin pump. It was much easier to 
     have the pump instead of sharp shots going into my body, and 
     I could eat any time I wanted. One day, when I was three, my 
     parents heard a beep. They turned around and realized that I 
     had taught myself to check my blood sugar, and I've been 
     doing it myself since then.
       When I was 6, I got a continuous glucose sensor, which 
     tells you what my sugar is every 5 minutes and sends it to my 
     pump by radio. After a while, the radio transmitter broke. We 
     got a new one that was exactly the same. Then I got a new, 
     smaller one that looks like a mushroom. In fact, it works a 
     little better. So I actually wear 2 devices at all times. One 
     gives me insulin, that's my insulin pump, and the other 
     checks my blood sugar, that's my sensor. My parents call me 
     the bionic girl.
       I have pump packs that hold my insulin pump. I recently got 
     a new one with dogs on it, and there's another one that comes 
     with it that is for your doll. I got it because my doll likes 
     to have diabetes, like me.
       At school, I check my sensor a lot, and if it says I am 
     going low, I have to check my blood sugar on my glucometer. 
     If I get too low, I could have a seizure or pass out. If I 
     get too high too often, I might have kidney, eye, or heart 
     problems later on.
       It's hard to have diabetes, because I can't have a lot of 
     sweets at birthday parties, like cake and anything that does 
     not have the carbohydrates marked on it like any homemade 
     stuff or if somebody through out the wrapper. I will explain 
     what I mean by that: every time I want to eat something, I 
     have to figure out how many carbohydrates are in that food. 
     And then I can calculate how much insulin to give myself. At 
     home, my mom uses a scale to weigh out every single thing 
     that I eat, then she knows how much insulin I will need. It's 
     hard when we go to a restaurant to eat, because my mom and my 
     dad have to guess how much insulin I will need. If I give 
     myself too much insulin, my blood sugar will be too low in a 
     few hours. If I don't give enough, then my sugar will be too 
     high. So, my parents and I think about carbohydrates for 
     every bite of food that I eat. Eating, for me, is very 
     complicated!
       Scientists have been working on a cure for diabetes, but 
     for that they need money. In the past four years since 2003 
     my family team, Team Sophie, has raised over $90,000. This 
     year my family and I raised $16,000 and we would like to 
     raise more next year.
       Thank you for listening to my story and for supporting 
     JDRF!

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