Lieberman Holds Juvenile Diabetes Hearing South Glastonbury Boy Testifies

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., held a hearing Wednesday about the impact of Type I diabetes on children and to amplify the need for a cure. The Senator singled out J. Patrick Lacher III of South Glastonbury as a stalwart soldier for that cause.

The hearing was held as part of the sixth Children's Congress organized by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Actress Mary Tyler Moore, singer Nick Jonas and boxer "Sugar" Ray Leonard appeared as witnesses. The Committee has held a hearing on this issue every two years for the past several years to review breakthroughs in research, the partnership between the JDRF and the National Institutes of Health, and the challenges of developing effective treatments for a cure for this disease.

"Although research has produced extraordinary medical breakthroughs to treat this disease, a cure is still out of reach," Lieberman told the roomful of children. "Your message is absolutely inspirational to us, as is the way in which you manage your diabetes every day. So, our fight continues until we can tell those of you diagnosed with Type I diabetes: 'We have a cure.'"

Juvenile diabetes strikes 15,000 new children every year in the United States. That's 40 kids a day, each of whom will spend their entire lives taking multiple insulin shots each day, using blood sugar monitors, and worrying about complications that may arise despite their best efforts to control their disease. The disease will affect almost all aspects of their lives.

Lacher, 13, appeared as a witness at the hearing. He has raised $31,000 for juvenile diabetes research in the three years since he was diagnosed. Lacher was joined by four other Connecticut children participating in the Children's Congress: Delilah Brien, of Greenwich; Mikayla Cappabianca, of Torrington; Katherine Nickdow, of Monroe; and Emma Potvin, of Trumbull.

"There are many reasons why a cure is important to me," Lacher said. In addition to helping the thousands of kids who suffer from diabetes, he said, "it would make my life a lot easier. I could sleep over at a friend's house without worrying about my blood sugar. My parents wouldn't have to worry every time I left home... I wouldn't have to carry a bag (filled with snacks and glucose) wherever I go. I would be free."