Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Chloe Bacik, 12, plays air hockey next to a poster that features her and her brother as ambassadors for Beat the Bridge, an annual diabetes run. Chloe was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 4 years old.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, April 20, 2009 Edmonds girl campaigns for diabetes awareness By Chris Fyall Herald Writer Chloe Bacik is a 12-year-old who loves fashion. She's streaked her blond hair with a pink highlight, she dangles large earrings from her ears, and she can rock a pink-and-black checkerboard scarf with total aplomb. Her mom is not involved when it comes time to getting dressed, Chloe insists. "I don't let her," the Edmonds girl said. "She's dangerous." Chloe likes clothing, and variety, but she always wears the same shiny silver bracelet on her right wrist. It conveys a piece of vital information: Chloe is a Type 1 diabetic. She has been since she was four. Diabetes is a disease that affects the way the body processes food and sugars. Untreated, it can cause serious health problems. Now, eight years after her diagnosis, Chloe has become a one-person diabetes awareness campaign. In addition to speaking at countless corporate functions, she's thrown the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners baseball game -- pitcher Brandon Morrow, a fellow diabetic, caught her pitch -- and this June she'll travel to Washington, D.C., where she'll help lobby the U.S. Congress for research dollars to combat a disease that required her to draw blood from her own finger an estimated 20,000 times. Last week, she spoke to a crowd of nearly 50 employees at the Bellevue Nordstrom before opening hours. The employees were trying to raise $20,000 for research to combat diabetes. "It's really annoying," she told the group. "I don't remember any day without diabetes." Her parents hardly do, either. They were forced to give the 4-year-old Chloe insulin shots two or three times a day, said her father Mark. "That was really difficult," he said. "It was hard for a child who has absolutely no idea why." At some point, she started to understand the disease. According to Mark, once when Chloe was 5, she marched into a doctor's office and said, "I'm here for my cure." That drive continues. It keeps her explaining diabetes and pushing people to help. "I just love talking to people," Chloe said. "They listen to me, and then we raise more money, and then we get closer to a cure." Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Shot ends search for man sought in killing of Seattle police officer 2. Thousands honor slain Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton 3. No charge will be filed in death of Everett pedestrian 4. Rain, thunderstorms forecast for lowlands 5. Bothell steamrolls Stanwood 6. PREP FOOTBALL/SWIMMING ROUNDUP: Halfback pass for touchdown sparks Sultan win 7. More jibba-jabba 8. Obama OK's homebuyer tax credit 9. Suspect identified in Seattle police killing 10. Dana nibbles into Somers’ lead 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Gough on track to keep job • Jazz vocalist headlines NPAC • Mountlake Terrace makes football history • Tax revenue sagging, city budgets lagging • ‘Touch of Magic' show opens at Gallery North • Jackson repeats as South champs • Holiday Bazaars Calendar • Meadowdale storms back to grab title • Edmonds moves to Fire District 1 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million