As Oprah’s recent show demonstrated, understanding the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 is difficult. To understand why it is so horrifying for children and adolescences to develop Type 2 Diabetes, you must comprehend the difference.

For the record, Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes as it is commonly referred to is an autoimmune disease and is treated with insulin. Type 1 Diabetes cannot be prevented by changes in lifestyle or diet. There is NO cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is often called adult-onset Diabetes because historically it was diagnosed later in life and is often the result of poor diet and excess weight. Type 2 Diabetes can often be managed by making dramatic lifestyle changes including diet and exercise. In both cases, Diabetes can cause the same serious long-term health problems such as heart disease, kidney failure nerve damage, blindness and neuropathy to name the more serious complications associated with the disease.

As the parent of a Type 1 Diabetic, you may be wondering why I am committed to supporting the Let’s Move Campaign. To manage my daughter’s disease, she exercises nearly every day. Our family does not need the gentle push of a public education initiative or a more direct nudge through the Fist Lady’s bully pulpit to keep moving. My motivation to engage in this public awareness and advocacy effort is not a result of my direct self-interest. Michelle Obama’s leadership inspires me because I desperately want to help other families avoid a fate that my family could not avoid.

It makes me shudder to think about the lives of these young Type 2 Diabetics. Children who are my daughter’s age and are facing a lifetime full of health complications, doctor’s visits and battles with food. In every case, this life sentence was preventable. I am on board and ready to MOVE!

Needless to say, I ultimately came to the obvious conclusion that anytime one has the opportunity to listen to the President of the United States outline a proposal for strengthening the economy there should be absolutely NO debate. In outlining his proposal to encourage the growth of small businesses in this country, I was relieved to learn more about the tax incentives he proposed. I was particularly intrigued by the idea of suspending the capital gains tax for funds invested in small businesses. Of course, as a student of political science and public policy, a Town Hall-style speech always leaves me thirsty for more details. However, I do appreciate the opportunity this format provides for American citizens to ask our President some hard and deeply personal questions on topics ranging from health care for families like ours living with chronic illness to how we are going to reduce the national deficit.

President Obama did briefly mention funding for the NIH and the need to advance medical research. Of course, I am always desperate to hear more emphasis on this particular issue. As Elle’s mother, I do not think I will ever be satisfied that enough attention is being directed to this particular issue. As an American, it is hard to imagine that some of this country’s best and brightest scientists, engineers and researchers are living abroad because greater access to resources for this type of research is available in places like the U.K. At the end of the day, I am grateful to be living in a place where protestors and supporters can come together to hear our President outline his vision for how to move our country forward.

To read the full transcript, click here.

The evening began with a buffet-style dinner for the Senators and their guests complete with the traditional fare of chicken pot pie. Apparently, this is a dish that Senators have been dining on for years prior to the State of the Union. Savoring the spirit of bipartisanship, we sat at a table with Senator John McCain and Cindy McCain, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Evan Bayh and Susan Bayh.

Following my private tour of the Senate Chamber for a close up look at my Mom’s desk, it was time to head over to the House. Guests of the Senators were escorted to the Gallery past the Hazmat squad decked out in their space suits.

Perched above the House floor, I stood and watched as Speaker Pelosi announced the Senate, Supreme Court, First Lady and President into the chamber. As the President began to speak, I was in a position to see members from all three branches of government as they individually processed his words.

From a policy perspective, I was inspired by President Obama’s proposal to support small businesses. It is my hope that these measures will spark an Innovation Movement as described by Tom Friedman in the following NY Times Op Ed on January 24:

www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/opinion/24friedman.html?emc=eta1

My favorite moment, however, was listening to President Obama celebrate the First Lady’s commitment to tackling America’s childhood obesity epidemic. Despite the cynicism that pervades our media driven culture, I still believe in the capacity of our government to make change in the face of adversity. When I think about children who are handed a diabetes diagnosis that could have been prevented it makes me angry and profoundly sad. Our children are developing type 2 diabetes because they are obese. This is America and we need to do better for our children and we can do better.

The pundits will surely focus on why the Republicans stood and clapped during some parts of the speech, but not others. Commentators will infer and split hairs and question whether President Obama emphasized all the right points. Talking heads will ask whether he was justified in his criticism of the Supreme Court and show split screens of his remarks and the facial expressions of the Justices. I expected that getting to see those expressions firsthand would be the most compelling takeaway. It turns out that the most treasured souvenir from this experience is my renewed sense of possibility. I feel hopeful that Americans from both sides of the political aisle can come together and tackle our country’s most pressing problem. We must work together because this is OUR Union and OUR children are waiting.

The suffering that people are enduring in earthquake ravaged Haiti is unimaginable.  To avoid further death and destruction, it is imperative that the 300,000 Haitians living with diabetes have access to life saving medication.  I applaud the heroic efforts made by the International Diabetes Federation, Insulin for Life and the Haitian Foundation for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases to get these supplies to people coping with astonishing devastation while managing this disease.

To help ensure that Haitian families are able to access diabetes supplies today, I am going to make a contribution to the IDF Diabetes Trust Fund:

http://www.idf.org/donate-idf-diabetes-trust-fund-haiti

I encourage you to join me in making a donation today to guarantee that families like mine who happen to be living in Haiti and are facing unprecedented destruction have one less thing to worry about tonight.

First, I was struck by the unlikely nature of this gift because a Resolution from the 1st Session of the 111th Congress of the United States it is not exactly a gift.  And it certainly is not something you expect to receive from your mother.  This time of year, mothers are often shopping for holiday presents in more conventional places for more customary gifts – a trip to the mall perhaps for a new watch or maybe a pair of earrings or a new sweater.

Second, receiving this news came as a surprise to me because I absolutely positively never imagined wanting this acknowledgement.  An acknowledgement that came in the form of a United States Senate Resolution officially stating that far too many people are living with diabetes and the disease can be devastating and costly on every level.  As you can imagine, I would much prefer the innocence that characterized my life before Elle was diagnosed.  Christmases of long ago, or before 2007, came complete with a more traditional wish list when what I wanted was a new pair of shoes or an ipod or someone to help me wrap presents.

I do, however, accept this as a gift – a gift that comes in the form of recognition.  For me, the passage of this Resolution was not the act of acknowledging Diabetes Awareness Month.  It was validation delivered in the form of an official declaration.  A statement that this is a tough sentence for every diabetic and his or her loved ones.  It was the reminder that we are not alone – that unfortunately millions of Americans are living with the same burden our family carries and Elle lives with every single minute of every single day at every mealtime and every snack time – ALL THE TIME.

While I never imagined I would find either my mother or myself to be in this unique position, I do feel grateful.  No, I never wanted this and I do question whether I even have the right to “accept” this as a “gift”.  As a declaration of support for our entire family when I am not the one sticking my fingers with a needle 10 times a day or having to force down yogurt in the middle of the night after having had a low blood sugar.  But I am with my daughter every step of the way on this journey – I guess I get this honestly.  As 2010 is upon us, somehow it seems right to consider this Resolution a gift and say thank you.  So…Thank you, Mom.

Click on each image to enlarge: