By Kathy Brown.
What did you do for your summer vacation? Well, for Logan Merwin, age 12, he and his mother traveled to Washington, D.C. so that Logan could be a Delegate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF’s) Children’s Congress at the beginning of July. Logan, who will be starting seventh grade next month at Haddam Killingworth Intermediate School, was chosen as one of two delegates from Connecticut, to attend this year’s Children’s Congress.
Logan had to fill out a detailed application as well as a letter to JDRF explaining why he should be chosen, as well as what he has already done to advocate and educate around Type 1 diabetes. “I wanted to have my story heard,” said Logan. “I want more funding for research for advancements in technology and to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.” Logan’s mother Samantha echoed that, and said, “We will educate and fight as often as we can until that message gets across.”
Jon Muskrat, Executive Director, Greater Connecticut/Western Mass Chapter, JDRF, said that they chose delegates “based on their leadership, creativity and passion for advocacy.” Their chapter sent four of the 160 delegates, age 4-17, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, UK, Israel, Australia, and the Netherlands.
- Hill Blitz: U.S. delegates meet with members of Congress from their hometowns, sharing personal stories and promoting JDRF’s call for SDP funding [Special Diabetes Project provides $150 million annually for Type 1 diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)]
- FDA Meeting: JDRF leadership and delegates share personal experiences with clinical trials and need for next generation T1D treatments
- Senate Hearing: JDRF leadership, delegates and celebrity attendees will testify for the need for SPD funding
- Town Hall Event: Delegates pose questions to and interact with Celebrity Role Models
Logan with Ryan Reed
- April Blackwell, NASA ADCO Flight Controller, Aerospace Engineer, writer, blogger (diagnosed at age 11)
- Lauren Cox, Baylor University Women’s Basketball Player and 2019 NCAA Champion (diagnosed at age 7)
- Victor Garber, Emmy- and Tony-nominated actor (diagnosed at age 12)
- Christina Martin, Professional dancer, motivational speaker, and American Ninja Warrior (diagnosed at age 13)
- Adam Schefter, Sports broadcaster and NFL Analyst for ESPN (wife diagnosed as an adult)
- Isaiah Stanback, Fitness expert, motivational speaker, and NFL Superbowl Champion (daughter diagnosed at age 3)
- Jennifer Stone, Actress (diagnosed at age 20)
- Derek Theler, Actor (diagnosed at age 3)
- Mitch Tulackha, Monster Truck owner and designer (diagnosed at age 23)
- Fiona Wylde, Professional stand-up paddler and windsurfer (diagnosed at age 18)
Logan was able to meet with Blumenthal, Murphy, and Courtney while he was in Washington, D.C. “I talked to the CT representatives about the Special Diabetes Project and why it’s important to me and my family,” said Logan. “I also talked about insulin pricing and why it should be lowered. We discussed how the NIH and the FDA should be funded more because the clinical trials that they help with are really important to me and my friends.” Samantha was very proud of Logan. “It was incredible listening to Logan and Emma [the other CT delegate] talk about their diagnoses and life story of managing Type 1 and how it impacts them every day,” she explained. “In all three meetings the kids took out their pumps and sensors and showed how they work now, how they used to work, and what they wished for. The conversation with Blumenthal was a powerful conversation, as evidenced by his later press conference about insulin pricing that same afternoon.”
