Laughter, happy voices and flying flour dominated the first Youth Ambassador gathering we hosted a few weeks ago.  About 15 T1D kids and their siblings, ranging in age from 6-18, baked T1D-friendly cookies, testing recipes to include in Bags of Hope; drew pictures to accompany the recipes; and played basketball with a local high school basketball star (who has had T1D for almost his whole life).  Shelby Payne, a member of the Pac-12 Champion Stanford Women’s Soccer team, was also in attendance, baking with the rest of the crew and answering a shy 10 year-old’s question, “What do you want your blood sugar to be before a game?”.  Only at a Youth Ambassador gathering would you hear that question, and be able to get an answer from an expert!

Another only-at-a-T1D-event moment came when the cookies came out of the oven.  “Anyone know how many carbs are in the cookies?” was shouted out as meters, pumps and pens made their appearance.  Although the event was meant to be for the children, many parents stayed and shared stories, tips and concerns (including us parents of teens facing the college transition).

As things drew to a close, most teens stayed to hang out and talk about concerts, music and high school . . . and the merits of pumps vs. shots.  What was most remarkable to me was how quickly the kids, across all ages, started talking, asking questions and working together to help others with T1D.  One boy, upon departure, summarized the afternoon for me—after thanking me he said, “Best party—EVER!”