Magee letter: Special Diabetes Program

It has been my privilege to meet with the Idaho Congressional delegation many times since my diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. During our visits, I share about the challenges of this disease that haven’t given me a break for half my life. I have poked my finger over 31,000 times and given myself over 15,000 insulin shots. I worry about long lasting complications like kidney disease and blindness.

Thanks to the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), a better life is ahead for me and others with diabetes. The SDP is a research program that is working to prevent, treat, and hopefully one day cure diabetes. The research is more important than ever since more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, a figure that is expected to double within the next 25 years.

Senators Crapo and Risch, Reps. Labrador and Simpson, I am so grateful for your support of the SDP you have shown in the past. As you know, the SDP is set to expire at the end of this September. I am, respectfully, asking that you renew the SDP for another three years at $150 million each year. Thank you.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Magee letter: Special Diabetes Program."