Ryan Larkin demonstrates pricking his finger for a blood sample. (Samantha Poland, 8th grader, photo) PHILLIPS — World Diabetes Day is recognized every Nov. 14. This year's theme was Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. At the Phillips Elementary School, MSAD #58's School Nurse Wendy Pond and 5th grader Ryan Larkin gave a special presentation to inform Larkin's classmates about the disease and give them a better idea of what a diabetic has to deal with every day of his life.

Larkin, the only diabetic student at the elementary school, explained to his audience of 5th and 8th graders the three major factors that contribute to type 1 diabetes, the form of the disease that Larkin has: glucose (sugar), food and the pancreas.

Using posters to illustrate, he said the glucose from the food we eat every day is the fuel that powers our battery and makes our human machine work. Without glucose, our battery would be flat and the body couldn't operate.

Glucose from partially digested food makes its way into the blood stream from the small intestine, but it needs a special key to unlock the door that will let it into the cells. This key is insulin, produced by the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce insulin so there is no way for the glucose to unlock the cells to get them the fuel they need to make energy for the body. Insulin must be introduced to the bloodstream artificially.

"It hurts sometimes", Larkin replied stoically to a friend's question about the pricking and the shots, "but you get used to it."

Having been diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic when he was in second grade, Larkin has become very adept at testing his own blood sugar level and giving himself injections when necessary, although he is always required to have an adult looking on.

He talked the students through the routine, which he performs up to seven times a day, of pricking his finger to get a drop of blood for his meter to read. Nurse Pond says whether he injects himself or not usually depends simply on whether or not he is late for lunch.

According to Larkin, the hardest thing about being a diabetic is not being able to eat whatever he wants whenever he wants. His older sister, Krystal, agreed, saying, "I feel bad when he can't have things that the rest of us are having - -like when Dad makes cinnamon buns."

Cinnamon used to be a huge no-no for Larkin when he was first diagnosed because it drastically lowered his blood sugar. As he has grown, it does not seem to be such a problem. In fact, he had no problem eating a breakfast roll with cinnamon in the frosting Friday morning right before his presentation.

Even under such special circumstance, Larkin says he doesn't feel alone or singled out at school. He eats right along with his classmates in the cafeteria. He participates in phys ed and basketball. He just has to be careful. His classmates are good about reminding him to test if they think he isn't paying close enough attention. And they don't even complain - -much-- if he gets to have candy during class when his sugar is low.

At the end of his presentation, Larkin handed out pins with the World Diabetes Day logo to his 5th grade classmates in appreciation of their support. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies.

Every day more than 200 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, requiring them to take multiple daily insulin shots and monitor the glucose levels in their blood. It is increasing at a rate of 3 percent each year among children and rising even faster in pre-school children at a rate of 5 percent per year.

Over 70,000 children a year under the age of 15 get diabetes. If not detected early enough in a child, diabetes can be fatal or result in serious brain damage. The obvious warning signs of increased urination, increased thirst, weight loss and tiredness are at times completely overlooked and the disease is misdiagnosed as the flu or not diagnosed at all.

Introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world, World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.