Naperville sisters represent Illinois kids in D.C.

Eight years ago, Kelsey Brown was like any other 9-year-old.

But a trip to the doctor left the Naperville girl's life changed forever.

“In literally a period of 45 minutes I went from being this happy-go-lucky kid to being diagnosed with diabetes,” Kelsey said. “It was just a whirlwind.”

Four years later, Kelsey's younger sister, Hailey, also was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She was 3.

Today, Hailey, 7, and Kelsey, 17, will join 148 other children in front of members of the U.S. Congress to put a face on Type 1 diabetes.

“I wanted my representative to see how scary that would be for someone that young, younger even with Hailey,” Kelsey said of the day she was first diagnosed.

The Brown sisters will take part in the Children's Congress, an event sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF, that takes place every other year since 1999 to raise awareness of Type 1 diabetes and increase advocacy efforts of government officials.

“I want them to see what I go through, what we go through, living with diabetes rather than what I have to do on a daily basis,” Kelsey said. “I can never have it off my mind. It always has to be there. I want them to see that.”

This morning, the Brown sisters, along with other Illinois representatives Caitlin Reedy, 14, of Hinsdale, and Aubrey Woolford, 14, of Wilmette, will meet with Sen. Richard Durbin, Sen. Mark Kirk and others to share their stories of what it is like to grow up battling diabetes.

Later this afternoon the girls will attend a Senate hearing where five delegates will share their personal experiences of living with Type 1 diabetes.

Of the more than 1,200 children, ages 4 to 17, who applied to take part in the program, only 150 were chosen to represent their home state in Washington, D.C.

“This year's delegates are an extraordinary group,” JDRF Children's Congress Chairwoman Stefany Shaheen said in an official statement. “Their testimonies will help all members of Congress understand that they need to ‘Promise to Remember' the children and families affected by this disease.”

Each year roughly 15,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a disease currently afflicting more than 3 million Americans.

Due to the increased personal responsibility, the disease requires “kids with diabetes grow up so fast,” Kelsey said.

“You have to understand at a young age that if you make a mistake it could be life or death right there,” Kelsey said. “That mistake could put you in the hospital and that's kind of a lot of weight on a kid.”

Much less common than Type 2, Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition where an individual's pancreas produces little or no insulin and may cause increased thirst, extreme hunger, weight loss, fatigue and blurred vision.

Despite using her insulin pump, Kelsey must check her blood sugar levels 10 times a day and be aware of the foods she eats.

“I have to do everything that a pancreas would do,” Kelsey said. “But no matter what I do, no matter how good I am, I'm never going to be as good as a pancreas would be.”

Currently there is no cure for Type 1 diabetes, a harsh reality the Children's Congress hopes to change.

“I'm basically reaching for a goal that is unreachable and it's a little disheartening,” Kelsey said.

The 2011 Children's Congress theme is “Promise to Remember Me,” a mantra through which JDRF hopes to remind legislators of the individual children and families Type 1 diabetes affects.

“Everyone knows the physical effects of diabetes,” Kelsey said. “It's the psychological, the emotional effects that take a toll on you.”

Through it all, the sisters have each other for support and guidance.

“I think we're kind of a team,” Kelsey said. “When you're having a bad blood sugar day it's hard for other people to understand how you feel.”

According to Kelsey, having Hailey to reassure her on the bad days “helps more than you would think.”

Likewise Hailey believes that her sister's knowledge makes day-to-day troubles easier.

“Kelsey helps me a lot with delivering the insulin,” Hailey said. “If I can't figure out how to do it she knows because she has to do it herself.”

In the fall Kelsey will be a senior at Benet Academy in Lisle where she is a member of the lacrosse team and on the executive board of the school's National Honor Society. Hailey, an incoming third-grader, swims and takes yoga lessons in her free time.

“This is definitely something I want to do to get the word out about diabetes,” Kelsey said. “Pretty much since I was diagnosed it's been about me not wanting to live with this anymore.”