Mrs. Karen Mitchell: Advocacy in Action

L-R: Congressman Joseph Pitts, Lissa Dochat (son Patrick), Karen Mitchell (son Wyatt)

August 10, 2011, Active Junior League member, Karen Mitchell, along with her 5 year-old son, met with Congressman Joseph Pitts at his Lancaster office to speak about Type 1 diabetes. Karen’s son, Wyatt, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just after his second birthday.

Karen visited Congressman Pitts with a fellow Lancaster mom, Lissa Dochat, whose son, Patrick, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes over a year ago. Lissa is the sister of former Junior League of Lancaster President, Jamie Burgess. Karen and Lissa share a common goal of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and ensuring that both of their sons remain healthy today. Karen and Lissa were introduced by a mutual friend, Kimberly Briner, who is also an Active Junior League of Lancaster member.

Meeting with legislators is an important part of advocacy supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, an organization both Karen and Lissa actively support. JDRF is currently sponsoring the Promise Campaign which is about telling the stories of the diabetes community directly to Members of Congress back at home. The campaign gives a voice to children and families dealing with diabetes and also reinforces to Members of Congress the need for the FDA to act urgently to advance the artificial pancreas and support critically important research for a cure.

There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system -- that is, its system for protecting itself from viruses, bacteria or any "foreign" substances.

People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive. This means undergoing multiple injections daily, or having insulin delivered through an insulin pump, and testing their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. People with diabetes must also carefully balance their food intake and their exercise to regulate their blood sugar levels, in an attempt to avoid hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, which can be life threatening.

Currently there is no cure for Type 1 diabetes, which makes it so critical for our legislators to continue to fund research. If you would like more information about Type 1 diabetes, please visit http://www.jdrf.org/.

Karen, thank you for your time and commitment to the Junior League of Lancaster as well as your advocacy work for Type 1 diabetes.