Blood sugar | Be a Seed for Change

My name is Latesha Taylor and I’m scared for my child‘s future.

Every day my 9-year old daughter Loretta goes to school — her life is at risk.

Why? Because without someone available every day to check her blood glucose and administer insulin, Loretta could enter into a coma … or worse.

Help the American Diabetes Association keep Loretta, and children like her, safe at school.

You see, Loretta has diabetes. Yet her school system doesn’t believe that it’s their job to provide basic care for a child with diabetes when a school nurse isn’t available. Other states have adopted laws that allow school employees to provide diabetes care as trained volunteers … but not mine.

Instead, I’m forced to leave my job every time the nurse is absent or unavailable because the school system refuses to train other staff members in how to care for her. And that means I get fired. A lot.

It also means Loretta is falling way behind in school. She can’t pay attention or keep up with her schoolwork when her blood glucose hits an extreme. And because she has so many absences from leaving school when there’s no nurse available, she’s even been cited for truancy!

Now I’m fighting for my child’s rights … and her safety. And I’d like you to join me. Help fight for the care that children like Loretta deserve at school.

Will you please send an urgent donation to help the American Diabetes Association? Your support could help them fight for the diabetes care that children like Loretta deserve at school, as well as support the Association’s research, information, advocacy and education programs.

Many of the over 200,000 children with diabetes in America have no support system in school when they need insulin or face a diabetes emergency. Some are even turned away from their neighborhood school simply because they have diabetes.

I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this is discriminatory and must be stopped. School personnel who aren’t health care professionals can — and should — be trained to provide diabetes care when a school nurse isn’t available.

Please give whatever you can today.

Not only will your generosity help give voice to those like Lorettta who are denied rights because of their diabetes, it will also help fund critical research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes.

I simply can’t thank you enough.

Sincerely,

Latesha Taylor

P.S. The American Diabetes Association had already won key victories in multiple states, allowing school employees to volunteer to be trained in assisting children with diabetes. Help us move forward! Your gift today will help the American Diabetes Association improve the lives of children and adults with diabetes. Donate today and help STOP DIABETES^®

Dear Carmen:It could be a matter of life or death.When a student with diabetes has an emergency in school, and no one is there to help when they need insulin, time is of the essence to get them the urgent carethey need.Many of the more than 200,000 children with diabetes in this country have no support system in school when they need insulin or face a diabetes emergency. Without good daily care for their diabetes, these children face serious long-term health issues including blindness, heart disease, amputation and even death.

However, some states and school systems claim that only a school nurse can help a child with their diabetes care at school. What happens when a nurse isn’t available to help that child in a severe blood glucose emergency?

Help ensure all children with diabetes are protected at school by signing our pledge to keep them safe.

Not only do some schools fail to provide a medically safe environment in which kids with diabetes can learn … they also reject these same children by telling them that they are not welcome to attend their local school.

That’s why the American Diabetes Association’s Safe at School campaign is dedicated to making sure all students with diabetes have the care they need to learn and be healthy. We are working with parents, health care professionals and school personnel across the country to make sure children with diabetes have the fundamental care they need so they aren’t placed in life threatening situations. And we’re fighting to make sure that these children are being treated fairly and have the same educational opportunities as their classmates.

In fact, we’ve already won victories for children with diabetes in many states. But we’re still fighting in places like California and Pennsylvania where kids are placed at risk each and every day.

Please speak up on behalf of these children by signing the pledge to help make sure children with diabetes have the care they need to keep them safe.

Thanks for all you do,

Larry Hausner
Chief Executive Officer
American Diabetes Association

P.S. Children with diabetes sometimes need help with the insulin they take daily. Your donation today to the American Diabetes Association could help us fight for the diabetes care that these children deserve, as well as fund leading-edge research, education and awareness programs that will improve the lives of millions of people living with diabetes. Help us STOP DIABETES^®. Donate today.