Eureka Student Testifying Before Congress on Diabetes Research

This summer promises to be an eventful for one for Eureka High School teenager Adam Vorel, who will be testifying before the U.S. Senate on Wednesday on the continued need for supporting Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research.

For Vorel, who was first diagnosed with T1D at the age of six, it’s an opportunity that holds a lot of personal meaning.

“It is an empowering feeling to be given a chance to advocate for something that could change my life and millions of others living with T1D,” he told Patch last week as he prepared for his trip to Washington, D.C.

Vorel will arrive in the capitol on Monday, with the hearing marking the culmination of the three-day “Children’s Congress” organized by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Vorel is one of only 150 young people from around the U.S. selected by the organization to press their case before the country’s legislators.

His first day will be spent settling in and rehearsing a song that we Vorel and the other delegates will sing called “Promised to Remember Me,” which is the theme of the campaign.

Then on Tuesday, he and the other delegates will gather together for a town hall-style meeting along with several celebrities who live with T1D. The purpose, Vorel said, is to discuss how they accomplish great things without their disease slowing them down.

It’s already a challenge Vorel, who will be a junior at Eureka this fall, knows well. Living with diabetes requires thorough planning and a level of organization that likely eludes most teenagers.

“I have to calculate every carbohydrate in the food I eat so I can match the right amount of insulin,” he said. “I have to also always take into account how active I will be in a day because that will also determine how much or little insulin I give myself.”

And supplying that insulin requires that Vorel has a pump attached to his body every hour of every day. It’s a constant struggle, he said, to live a “normal life.”

However, when Vorel meets with for the town hall Tuesday, he will have plenty of his own accomplishments to talk about.

Vorel participates in student council and youth group, plays tennis and enjoys swimming, and even recently worked with scientists from Washington University in St. Louis. He is interested in pursing a career in field biology and participated in a hands-on training program through the Missouri Botanical Garden.

He will then receive training and preparation for his meetings Wednesday with members of congress representing Missouri. Vorel said he hopes to speak with Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. Roy Blunt and Congresswoman Ann Wagner.

The JDRF delegation will then finally testify at a senate hearing on the continued need for research for a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Vorel said he feels “honored to have been selected” and very excited for the opportunity to share his story of living with T1D.