A 10-year-old girl from Maine spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill. Her request? Keep funding type 1 diabetes research! Maria Muayad has been living with the disease since she was seven, and she believes it’s high time a cure was found.
“We know that with hard work, we can do anything, every delegate knows this too and that’s why we’re here,” said Maria, according to WMTW. “My dream and my family’s big hope is to cure type 1 diabetes. Together, with your help, we can do it.”
Living with type 1 diabetes isn’t easy, as Maria attested in her speech. That’s why Tuesday’s hearing was dedicated to the Special Diabetes Program; specifically, why it should be allowed to continue. Not only does the program fund research for a cure, but also to promote new and better types of treatment.
“Its going to be amazing when we cure type 1 diabetes,” she said. “There is so much I’m looking forward to when there’s a cure. I won’t have to wear my devices that itch and hurt and that bring unwanted attention from my classmates. When there’s a cure, I’ll be able to spend more time doing things I love like Facetiming my family and playing outside with my friends. Until we cure this disease, I would also like if everyone could afford diabetes supplies they need to live.”
Maria has big plans to help other people with diabetes in the future. Her dream is to go into medicine so that she can advocate for kids with the disease – a goal that was inspired by having diabetes herself.
“It did lead to me wanting to become a pediatrician,” she said. “Because I know that only kids and adults with Type 1 will understand the pain and struggle that they go through. I would like to help kids better understand that.”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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