Emma Hogan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at Monday 17 August 2009 at the age of seven years old. Her parents noticed that she had been losing weight and going to the bathroom every night at 3am without fail, but they put it down to her rigorous dancing schedule.
When they noticed how much water she was drinking, they decided to take Emma to the family doctor, who did a blood test. The results came in later that night, and around 11:30pm the doctor called the house personally to tell the family to take Emma straight to the hospital where a team was waiting for her. Emma went straight on a drip and the next morning when the diabetes educator came to see them, the family were told the life-changing news that Emma had T1D.
On Wednesday, the Hogans were allowed to go home but Emma didn’t go back to school till the following week. She was the first in her school to have T1D, and had to tell her class about what had happened.
Emma’s first contact with JDRF was signing up to be a youth ambassador in December 2010 at just eight years old. The following year she took on her first JDRF One Walk, organising a mufti day at school to fundraise towards a target of $500 – this would become the beginning of her now lengthy fundraising career.
“It was quite overwhelming as everyone seemed to know each other but I was inspired by all the support and everyone getting into the fundraising for JDRF,” said Emma of her first One Walk experience.
Emma’s journey with JDRF has gone from strength to strength – she went to Parliament House for Kids in the House 2012 as the advocate for the electorate of Lindsay, since this time she has formed relationships with three other MPs in this seat.
In 2015, Emma was chosen to represent Australia at JDRF Children’s Congress in Washington DC. That same year, Emma completed the Jump for a Cure, raising almost $2,000 for JDRF.
This year, Emma is honoured to be hosting the JDRF One Walk Penrith, alongside juggling the demands of high school, a trip to Canberra for Kids in the House 2018, and a two-week internship in the JDRF Sydney office. She is inspired to host a walk in her home suburb to bring the T1D community in Western Sydney together so they can connect on a closer level and support each other. Emma also hopes to raise awareness of T1D within the community and local businesses.
Emma’s says her biggest challenge would have to be changing the stigma of T1D, that it is caused by eating too much sugar. She would love to see a day where kids no longer ask her why she’s “selling cupcakes for diabetes”. But above that of course, Emma would love to see a world without T1D!
Do you want a world without type 1 diabetes just like Emma? Find your local JDRF One Walk here.