Miss America urges Nevada lawmakers to help diabetics

Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999 | 10:28 a.m.

The 25-year-old diabetic said Nevada is one of only 11 states that do not require insurance companies to pay for adequate supplies, medicine and education for those with diabetes.

"We need to change that," she said before presenting awards at a Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults banquet Friday night at the Reno Hilton.

Ms. Johnson, national spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association, has helped pass diabetes-related legislation in three states and lobbied Congress six times for increased diabetes research funding.

She was diagnosed with diabetes in 1993 when she was a freshman at the University of South Florida. She has been dependent on insulin every day since then.

"When I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, I thought my life was over. I dropped out of school," she said.

She pulled out of a depression with the help of her family after she realized her diabetes could be controlled, instead of it controlling her.

"I continue to struggle with diabetes," she said. "Some days, I don't want to prick my finger and test my blood sugar."

About 15 million Americans have diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the nation. It can cause blindness, kidney disease and heart disease.

Ms. Johnson has spent her year as Miss America trying to raise awareness about the disease that has no cure.