    
Hello all! My name is Kelly-Dayne Hansen, and I am a member of the Novo Nordisk Youth Panel. I have had type 1 diabetes for about 5 years now, and am currently a college student in Portland, OR. I hope to help change the future of diabetes by encouraging other young people to educate themselves about the importance of healthy living. By coming together and educating each other about these issues, we can face a much brighter future.
Today was the first day of the Changing Diabetes Bus and Village in Chicago, IL. Our bus stop here corresponds with the massively large American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions meeting, and so thousands of people in the field of diabetes care have descended upon the city for the weekend. But, the attendees of the conference are not our primary audience this weekend with the Novo Nordisk bus. Instead, we are set up at the entrance to an amusement park type area called Navy Pier. Here we hope to attract visitors from all over the Chicago area, including those with diabetes and those who know nothing of the disease.
The official opening ceremony for the Village this morning was well attended, and we had some interesting speakers. Chicago Bears coach and local celebrity Lovie Smith spoke about the importance of diabetes awareness, and shared an intensely personal story about his family connection with diabetes. He told the story of his mother, who came to see the fulfillment of his lifelong dream to coach a team in the Superbowl. However, the joy of the moment was bittersweet, he said, as she could listen to the announcer but could not watch the game as type 2 diabetes had stolen her eyesight. Now he is the last member in his family left without diabetes and is valiantly fighting the onset of this potentially debilitating disease.
At the Village, we have free health screenings, information about diabetes, a fitness corner, free healthy snacks, and a children’s corner. Displayed in the children’s corner tent are entries for the Novo Nordisk’s drawing contest for kids under age 12 with diabetes. Over the course of the Village’s stay here in Chicago, Erik, Karen and I must choose a winner to continue on to the worldwide contest. I find it impossible to choose. Each picture tells a distinct, and true, story of life with diabetes. One that strikes me as especially moving, however, has a caption that describes life with diabetes as “going down a river: you have to go with the flow.” How true that is; sometimes life with diabetes is easy, and you do not have to paddle too hard, and sometimes life with diabetes is like trying to maneuver white water rapids.
Diabetes is a massive issue for Americans today. In the United States today, there are 21 million people with diabetes, and nearly a third of them are still undiagnosed. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes among youth is also growing with alarming swiftness. One out of every three children born today in the USA will develop diabetes during his or her lifetime. These statistics are at once gruesome and startling. They are a wake-up call that Americans must heed. That is why we are here with the bus. We want to be a part of that wake-up call, the initiative for change.
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