Age: 13
Age at T1D diagnosis: 12

Fernando is an honor roll student who likes football and track. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up. Fernando’s mother also has T1D, and when he was six years old he saved her life by calling 911 after she passed out from low blood sugar. Fernando was happy to attend Camp Seale Harris last summer because the experience “helped me meet kids with the same problem as me. I really enjoyed myself, being at camp gave me some freedom.” Fernando raises awareness by speaking to his classmates and teammates about what it’s like to have T1D. He says, “I hope that, in the near future, a researcher can find a way to get rid of this disease, so that kids like me can only have to play sports and study.”

Two Alabama teens to lobby Congress for juvenile diabetes research / Alabama Today / July 19, 20

13-year-old from Birmingham to represent Alabama at JDRF 2017 Children’s Congress / AL.com / June 15, 2017