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On the outside, 14-year-old Krista Thomson looks like any other normal teenager. She likes hanging out with her friends, being on the computer and shopping. She also enjoys hiking and regular soccer practice with the Juneau Soccer Club and Juneau-Douglas High School soccer team. But if you probe deeper, one thing is different about this JDHS freshman: For the past three years, she has had to cope with Type 1 diabetes.

"At first my friends were like 'Oh, does that hurt? It's so weird,'" Thomson said of her friends' reactions. "They don't bother me about it, because they know I have to do it. Sometimes they ask questions, like 'Does it hurt?', which is kind of annoying, or 'Do you always have to do that?' or 'What will happen if you don't take your shot?'"

But all pitying aside, Thomson said her diabetes has become normal - just a way of life. Her mother, Margie Thomson, agreed.

"It's just part of her daily routine," she said. "Her life does depend on it, but she still plays on the soccer team and she still hikes. She just has to keep track of it all."

In fact, Krista Thomson has become so used to dealing with Type 1 diabetes that she did her science fair project on it this year and wrote a resounding essay about it - which won her the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., to present her experience to Congress.

As Krista's science fair mentor, Cynthia Nickerson, president of the Alaska Association of Diabetes Educators and certified case manager and diabetes educator for Bartlett Regional Hospital, said Thomson is an outstanding representative of her peers who have Type 1 diabetes.

"She is only 14 but has a mature attitude about Type 1 diabetes," Nickerson said. "She has accepted the challenges that come with Type 1 and chosen to learn what she can about the condition to avoid complications that can come with diabetes."

Every two years, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Children's Congress selects about 150 children ages 4 to 17, from more than 1,500 essay submitters, to represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia in a face-to-face meeting with government officials to petition for more funding for Type 1 diabetes research and finding a cure.

"This doesn't mean she has resigned herself to a life of diabetes but wants a cure for it," Nickerson said of Thomson. "By going to Washington, D.C., and testifying before Congress, she will be the voice of everyone with Type 1 diabetes who want an end to this disease."

As the only Alaska representative, Krista Thomson will testify before Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young and present a scrapbook that talks about her as an Alaskan and her desire to fund research for a cure. Her family is thrilled for her.

"I'm just excited about just the lobbying aspect, to be a part of that, to go and meet with our legislators," said Margie Thomson, who will travel with Krista.

Krista Thomson said she is excited to meet other kids who are in similar situations.

"I think it's going to be nice to be around more kids my age who have diabetes," she said. "(I'd like to) ask them what it's like to be on a pump or what it's like for them every day having diabetes."

For Krista Thomson and her family, the trip provides hope for finding a cure.

"It'd be really nice if I didn't have to check my blood sugar every day or take shots all the time," Thomson said. "I think that it would make life kind of easier."

• Contact Neighbors editor Kim Andree at 523-2272 or kim.andree@juneauempire.com.