In September, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a few inspiring teenagers and their families who fight type 1 diabetes like Champs! These amazing kids are all a part of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Teen Power Clinic, which is an intervention program that provides psychological support and skills-based learning for groups for teens ages 12-18 years with insulin-treated diabetes. One of the best parts about this group is that sessions are also available for the teens’ caregivers and siblings so that the entire family can get involved to support their loved one living with type 1 diabetes.
One of the things that I noticed about these kids right off the bat was that each kid introduced themselves to the group and stated “I don’t/won’t let diabetes slow me down”. That fighter spirit struck a chord with me as I can relate to it in my own life and career. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it is to be a teen with diabetes, but I am grateful that there are programs like Teen Power at CHLA to help support kid’s in their most trying times, learning to live and thrive with type 1. I learned so much from each kid as we laughed, jumped rope, and even did a little boxing! My Foundation is incredibly proud to support this program as well as the amazing team at CHLA!