42 Queensland Children with Type 1 Diabetes to Meet the Premier
1 May 2006

Forty two children with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes will make an emotional journey to Brisbane on 11 May 2006 to meet Premier Beattie and their State MPs, and ask for support in finding a cure for the devastating disease they live with every day.

The children are participants in the first ever Kids in the House Queensland event, organised by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Aged between 2 and 17, the children represent Queensland electorates from Brisbane City to Barron River. They will urge Parliamentarians to 'Promise to Remember Me' when considering new policies and funding decisions for medical research. It is the first time children from across the State will mobilise in such magnitude to raise awareness of diabetes.

At meetings throughout the day, the children will provide Queensland political leaders with a personal account of their experiences of living with diabetes, highlighting the devastating, life altering impact of the disease and explaining in their own words why a cure is so critical.

"All children deserve to lead a long and healthy life," said JDRF CEO, Mike Wilson. "But children with type 1 diabetes experience years of debilitating health problems from a disease that can shorten their life expectancy by up to 15 years."
"Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 cannot be prevented or managed by diet and other lifestyle choices.

"Through Kids in The House, we want to help our political leaders understand what a serious disease type 1 diabetes is and, by the end of the day, we hope they will be committed to supporting policies and research to fight and eventually cure it," he said.

The group will be led by 10 year-old Rebecca Adsett, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes eight years ago when she was just two years old. Rebecca will speak about how difficult it is living with diabetes, outlining the challenges she faces every day.

"Sometimes it's annoying having diabetes, and I would like to help people understand how horrible it is to have it," said Rebecca. "They need to know that insulin is not a cure. We need more research so kids like me can live a normal life."

The children will be accompanied on their journey by parents, siblings, friends and scientists, including 2006 Australian of the Year, Professor Ian Frazer.
A feature of the day will be a display of 1,500 syringes on Parliament House Lawn, which represent the number of injections taken by a person with type 1 diabetes over one year.

In type 1 diabetes - the most serious and complicated form of the disease - a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, the hormone that enables people to get energy from food. To survive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple daily injections of insulin and test their blood glucose levels four or more times a day by pricking their fingers for blood.

While trying to balance insulin injections with physical activity and the amount of food consumed, people with type 1 diabetes must constantly be prepared for hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) and hyperglycaemia (high blood glucose), both of which can be life threatening. The devastating long term complications of diabetes include blindness, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage and amputations.

While usually diagnosed in children, type 1 diabetes also occurs in adults. The disease affects more than 140,000 Australians, with incidence increasing every year. Every day another 2 people are diagnosed.

ENDS

For further information:
Karolyn Andrews, Media & PR Manager, JDRF
Ph. 02 9966 0400 (x203) or 0403 787 077 | email: kandrews@jdrf.org.au

About JDRF:
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the world's largest not-for-profit supporter of diabetes research, investing $130 million in the search to find a cure for type 1 diabetes each year. JDRF was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, a disease which strikes people suddenly, makes them dependent on multiple daily injections of insulin to survive and at risk of devastating health complications like blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and amputation.