MISS JONES GOES TO WASHINGTON SHE LECTURES ABOUT DIABETES AND FUNDING.

Byline: Daily News

A Valencia girl traveled to the nation's capitol in May to encourage lawmakers to increase federal funding for diabetes research and prevention.

Camille Jones, 10, who was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, joined over 350 other advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C., for the American Diabetes Association's ``Call to Congress: Conquer Diabetes,'' advocacy event.

While in Washington, Camille met with a staff member from Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon's office to lobby on behalf of her sister Bailey, age 8, who also suffers from diabetes, and all Santa Clarita diabetes sufferers, for the need to increase federal funding. Up to 20,000 people are afflicted with diabetes in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Camille also spent time in the offices of Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both of whom are members of the Diabetes Caucus. Camille, along with other association advocates, shared their personal stories and testimonials, and explained to lawmakers the need to increase the National Institutes of Health budget next year by 10 percent.

``The night before, and as I was walking over to Congressman McKeon's office, I was very nervous about talking to them about diabetes. Once I started telling them what having diabetes is like, I felt more comfortable,'' Camille said. ``I even pricked my finger and tested my blood sugar in our meeting to show him what I have to do all day long, every day.''

Of the 18.2 million Americans living with diabetes, California leads the nation with 1.7 million of its residents being afflicted with the disease.

Camille was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 8 years old, and her sister, Bailey, six months earlier, when she was 5. Both have had to endure multiple insulin shots and eight or more blood glucose checks daily.

``We check Camille and Bailey's blood sugar every night at 2 a.m. to ensure their blood sugar does not go too low, causing a seizure,'' said Camille's dad, Dan Jones, who accompanied her on the trip and is current president for the Santa Clarita chapter of the American Diabetes Association.

``Finding a cure is our goal for our daughters and every other person afflicted with this disease,'' said Janine Jones, Camille's mother, who lives with the daily struggles of trying to keep the two girls healthy.

The goal of the Call to Congress event was to change the way the federal government views and funds diabetes research and prevention. For every dollar that diabetes costs the United States, the federal government spends less than one penny on diabetes research.

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Diabetic Camille Jones, 10, joined other advocates in Washington, D.C., for the American Diabetes Association's advocacy event.