Lavinia Martin will head to Canberra to make sure a cure for diabetes can be found.
By Melissa Meehan
UPPER Beaconsfield resident Lavinia Martin will join more than 300 kids and family members affected by type 1 diabetes in Canberra this month.
Lavinia and her mum Joanne will join a demonstration in support for continued government funding for type 1 diabetes research.
The crowd will include Lavinia and 99 other Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Youth Ambassadors, aged three to 30-something – all with type 1 diabetes.
In Canberra to attend Kids in the House, they aim to represent the 140,000 children and adults in Australia with the disease.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) chief executive Mike Wilson said it was important for politicians to understand the serious health implications of type 1 diabetes, as well as the important differences between type 1 and type 2.
“Increased support of Australian research into type 1 diabetes is critical – because only research can achieve a cure and we need it fast,” he said.
“We hear demands from families every week for access to drugs and technologies that are becoming available around the world.”
Lavinia wishes she could forget about her two injections of insulin and six fingerpricks every day.
“But I know I have to have them to stay alive,” she said.
Her mum Joanne said she was afraid of the complications that could arise from the disease in the future.
“My hope is for a cure before something goes wrong,” she said.
