Two teens from Marin County have been selected to tell their stories of life with type 1 diabetes at a national conference next month.

Reese Larson, 14, of Mill Valley, and Spencer Springfield, 17, of Kentfield, are among six students from the Bay Area and 170 nationally chosen out of more than 1,000 who applied for the spots across the country.

“I’m honored and excited to represent my region and the broader T1D community,” said Larson, who will be attending San Domenico as a freshman in the fall.

“I am actually excited about spending time on Capitol Hill with lawmakers and learning more about how our government functions,” said Larson, who was diagnosed at age 6.

Springfield, a junior at Redwood High School in Larkspur and a member of the varsity lacrosse team, said he had “hoped for years to be attending” the conference in Washington, D.C., and “this year was my last opportunity.”

The event, the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children’s Congress, is held every other year for youth age 4 through 17.

“I feel so proud that I am able to go and represent other kids and adults with T1D,” said Springfield, who was diagnosed at age 2. “I’m really excited to be part of something that can actually make a difference.”

The last time anyone from Marin was selected to attend was in 2019, said Shelly Jensen, of the Northern California chapter of Breakthrough T1D. The goal is to raise awareness of the daily burden of Americans living with a serious autoimmune disease, Jensen said.

“Many believe T1D is only diagnosed in childhood and adolescence,” Jensen said. “But diagnosis in adulthood is common and accounts for nearly 50% of all T1D diagnoses.”

An estimated 9 million people worldwide, and 1.5 million in the U.S., have type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease for which there is no cure, Jensen said.

The Breakthrough T1D Children’s Congress, to be held July 7 through 9, coincides with the need to renew an estimated $160 million annually for two years in federal funding to the National Institutes of Health for research.

Research can help with better technology for treatments, and eventually a cure, Springfield said.

“Living with type 1 diabetes is really hard,” Springfield said. “There’s no break from it, and it takes a lot of energy every single day. Even when I’m doing everything right, it can still throw me off.”

Larson, who is active in dance and musical theater performances at school, agreed.

“I need to manage my T1D 24/7 and there are no days off,” she said. “More people need access to the great technology in continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps, and we all need cures.”

A bipartisan group in Congress have supported the funding in the past, Jensen said. It is unclear whether that would change under the Trump administration.

“Over the years, the special diabetes program has contributed $3.5 billion to type 1 diabetes research through the NIH,” Jensen said. In March 2025, Congress passed a six-month, $80 million extension of the special diabetes program through Sept. 30, she said.

Since the disease causes the pancreas to make very little insulin or none at all, children, teens and adults with the condition must monitor their blood sugar levels on a 24-hour basis. Some wear an insulin pump that automatically monitors blood sugar. The pump adds more insulin, if needed, to help manage blood sugar levels.

Others with the condition choose to self-monitor — or, if young, have their parents do the work — which can require frequent finger pricks on a daily basis to determine insulin blood levels, followed by injections of insulin if needed.

Even with close monitoring, there is a risk of short and long-term complications, which can include highs and lows in blood sugar and damage to the kidneys, eyes, nerves and heart, and even death.

“One of the most difficult parts of type 1 diabetes is the push and pull of trying to make sure your child has all the normal childhood experiences they deserve, while at the same time trying to keep them safe,” said Spencer Springfield’s mother, Diane.

She said that “moments that other families take for granted, like sending your kids to preschool, an after-school program, a day camp or an overnight, are so effortful and take extensive planning, conversations, training of staff with plans and back-up plans behind the scene.”

For Josh Larson, Reese Larson’s father, one of the most challenging things is “the stigma and misperceptions about T1D,” he said.

“That there is nothing we did to cause Reese’s T1D onset, it cannot be cured by a low-carb diet or with cinnamon — common myths on social media — and that there are no limits to what she can accomplish,” he said.

He said he was “so proud of Reese and all of these Children’s Congress delegates.”

“To know how much they juggle on a daily basis, yet they remain optimistic and channel their efforts toward policy change in this way,” he said. “She inspires me every day.”

Diane Springfield was also “so proud of Spencer,” his mother said. “He has navigated his life with little complaining and has handled the responsibilities of T1D with such maturity. “

More information is online at shorturl.at/8tX9z