Community & Business
16 December, 2024
Mason Family Helps Make a Difference for T1D
What does fifty million dollars’ worth of hope feel like? Just ask Allora’s Benjamin and James Mason.
They, along with parents, Hayley and Mark, recently joined a national delegate of one hundred brave Type 1 Diabetes advocates as part of JDRF’s “Kids in the House – KITH” program, to address members of parliament in Canberra.
Their big goal? A world without Type 1 Diabetes.
Did you know that about eight people are diagnosed with T1D in Australia every day? Life for sufferers is expensive and fraught with complex medical decisions on an hourly (sometimes minute-by-minute) basis. Each one has their own unique story of life with this relentless, life-long, and scary condition.
Educating decision-makers about the impact of T1D and advocating for ongoing funding for research is the key to achieving their goal.
Mission accomplished: The Masons returned home smiling with the knowledge that they had made a difference. Together with the leaders of JDRF and the brilliant scientists they confirmed bipartisan support and the announcement of $50.1 million towards ongoing research, meaning terms like ‘smart insulin’, ‘gene manipulation’ and of course the big one… ‘cure’ feel far less futuristic and fill the lives of Australia’s T1D sufferers with great hope.
