Delegates in New York

Delegate: Jane
State: New York
Age: 15
Profile: Jane volunteers at soup kitchens, other charities, and JDRF. She has been a youth ambassador and has given speeches at fundraising events, and was the featured speaker at the 2008 spring Gala. She is on the field hockey team and the debate team. She enjoys sailing, reading, cooking, and baking. She is in her school’s student government and hopes to pursue a career in journalism.
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Delegate: Jenny
State: New York
Age: 12
Profile: Jenny is an avid dancer, and also likes to sing. She performed in The Color Purple on Broadway. Just a few months later, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. But she didn’t let it stop her, and participated in eight shows starting just six days after her diagnosis.
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Delegate: Kaitlyn
State: New York
Age: 8
Profile: Kaitlyn has struggled with her disease since being diagnosed at age two, experiencing highs and lows that seem to have no pattern. Her new continuous glucose monitor has helped with the problem, but it isn’t a cure. Her parents note how mature and responsible she is—and how she shouldn’t have to be, at just seven years old.
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Delegate: Merrill
State: New York
Age: 6
Profile: Merrill was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 15 months old, just when she was learning to walk. She spent three days unconscious in the ICU, then another week in the pediatric ward. Now five, her parents check her blood sugar ten times a day, and she wears an insulin pump all day and all night. Because there is no nurse at her school, her mom has to go to school with her.
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Delegate: Morgan
State: New York
Age: 8
Profile: Morgan enjoys ice skating, swimming, arts and crafts, and anything to do with animals, especially horseback riding. She would like to be a vet when she grows up. Diagnosed in 2007, she gave herself a shot of insulin in her stomach when she was six years old, and now does her own site changes for her insulin pump.
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Delegate: Nathan
State: New York
Age: 6
Profile: A cub scout, Nathan enjoys swimming, basketball, t-ball, and bike riding. With his family, he has promoted diabetes awareness in his community by raising thousands of dollars through JDRF Walks, and selling paper sneakers and golf balls since his diagnosis at age three.
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Delegate: Ryan
State: New York
Age: 11
Profile: Math and history are Ryan’s favorite subjects in school. He plays basketball, football, and baseball, and also sings and plays the trombone. He would like to teach math or be a basketball coach, but “speaking out about diabetes will always be something I do until we find a cure.” His family was named 2008 JDRF Family of the Year.
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Delegate: Sean
State: New York
Age: 14
Profile: Diagnosed in 2002, 13-year-old Sean had just moved to New York and was starting at a new school. He learned to test his blood sugar first thing in the morning, and last thing before he goes to bed, and at least five more times during the day. He uses an insulin pump. “Probably the hardest thing about living with diabetes is when my blood sugar level is high. If that happens, I can’t eat. This happens a sometimes in the mornings and it means I usually can’t eat breakfast.
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Delegate: Vincent
State: New York
Age: 10
Profile: Vincent was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2006, and is a first degree black belt in mixed martial arts, in which he has earned trophies. Each year his family team, in partnership with the karate school, hosts a Kick-a-thon that has helped raise more than $4,000 for diabetes research.
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Delegate: William
State: New York
Age: 10
Profile: William, who enjoys soccer and basketball, also builds model rockets and collects radio-controlled cars and trains. He loves working with animals, aviation, and history. He would like to become an investor or a Navy SEAL, and to fly a plane one day. Diagnosed at age four, he nevertheless remembers the ease of life before his diagnosis. Now he uses an insulin pump.
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