Hey y'all!
I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I've been traveling a lot, working a lot, and trying to convince myself that school isn't about to start. (Spoiler alert: it is.) But I've also spent that time mentally unpacking the overwhelming amount of events, accomplishments, and especially emotions that accompanied my trip to Congress. This is my attempt to share all that with you guys. Bear with me--it'll be long and kinda messy, but hopefully worth it!
It's been one month since the last day of Children's Congress. One month since my day on Capitol Hill--the end of the best 3 days of my life.
Every second of my time at CC was amazing. But one of the best things about it--one that I had looked forward to from the very beginning--was being surrounded by people who know what it's like to live with this condition every day. Within minutes of meeting the other delegates, we had already formed a special bond unlike anything I've ever felt.
One of the most emotional moments of my entire experience happened on the very first night of the trip. At dinner, after we were all finished eating, each delegate was called onstage to share their name, hometown, age, and age of diagnosis. I was one of the first to speak, so afterward, I went back to my table to watch the rest of the intros--and I started crying. My mom looked mildly concerned, and I wanted to reassure her that I was fine, but all I could say was "Mom--they're all just like me."
I never get to meet other PWD. Seriously. I mean, I have my Pin Cushions of course, and the DOC, and don't get me wrong, they're amazing. But being surrounded by more than 150 other kids who know the ins and outs of daily life with T1D... I've spent a month trying to find the words to describe it, and I still can't. The emotion came in the little moments, like sitting in a hill blitz training session, hearing a Dexcom alert, and realizing it wasn't mine. Or walking around DC with a group of fellow delegates and comparing our blood sugars, trading low snacks and offering to share vials of insulin.
I could go on all day about my fellow delegates, and how amazing they were, and how humbled I was to be in such an incredible group. But like I said in my last post, we weren't just there to have fun--we had a job to do. And on the third and final day of CC, we got up at 5am (I wish I was exaggerating) and headed for the Hill.
The Senate hearing was so cool. Senator Casey kept saying "diabeedus"... but other than that, it was perfect. It was incredibly gratifying to see how much bipartisan support we have from the Senators, and watching my fellow delegates testify made me so proud.
My favorite part of the day, though, was the individual meetings--especially my first one, with Senator Dick Durbin. We had been warned that many Senators would send staffers on their behalf and not actually attend the meeting, or that if we did meet a Senator in their office, it would only be for 5 or 10 minutes. I spent 45 minutes in Senator Durbin's office, and he listened to every word I said. He asked all the right questions and seemed to genuinely care about the reality of life with T1D. And one week later, he introduced a new bill to cap insulin prices--and mentioned me in the interview.
All in all, every minute of CC19 was beyond what I could ever have imagined. I made friends for life, and above all, we made a real difference. I'm so proud to have been a part of that amazing group, and so excited to see what the future holds.
