Trip Lets Diabetic Put on a Happy Face Again

Outwardly, the shy West Covina girl and the glamorous celebrity from New York appear to have little in common.

But Elizabeth Rachel Lugo, 12, and Mary Tyler Moore, 62, share deep bonds: Both suffer from diabetes, an incurable disease that can lead to blindness, amputations and even death. Moore and Liz, as the raven-haired girl likes to be called, are also trying to educate federal policymakers about their illness and bring more research money to help find a cure.

Today, Moore will meet Liz and other diabetic children from across the country in Washington for the first Children’s Congress sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.

Chosen through a nationwide essay contest entered by more than 1,000 children or their parents, the 100 delegates--whose ages range from 2 to 17--will meet with Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala on Monday and appear at a special hearing before members of Congress on Tuesday.

“It will be wonderful for these children to be a part of the process, to see what it’s like to be an advocate and to realize that they too can take the initiative and make things happen,” Moore said in a telephone interview.

Diabetes, suffered by an estimated 16 million Americans, is a chronic disease in which the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the substance regulating the body’s ability to convert sugar into energy. About 90% to 95% of patients have Type II diabetes, which can be controlled through diet, exercise or oral medication.

Liz and Moore have the more serious, Type I variety, also sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes because it usually occurs in people under 40. Type I diabetics are insulin-dependent. For Moore, who has traveled the world and has testified before federal policymakers many times during her 16 years as chairwoman of the diabetes foundation, going to Washington as an advocate is hardly a big deal.

But to Liz, who has never ventured outside California except for one family trip to Tijuana, this trip has already had a major impact, her family said.

“It has made her so happy. As happy as she was before she was diagnosed with diabetes,” said her grandmother and legal guardian, Mary Lugo, whom she calls “Mom.” Liz’s biological parents have not played primary roles in her upbringing.

To hear relatives tell it, there was a Liz Before, and a Liz After--after she found out she had diabetes.

Liz Before was a free spirit who laughed readily and loved to dance and sing. “One of her favorite songs was Tony Bennett’s ‘Put on a Happy Face,’ ” Lugo said.

“Halloween was one of her favorite holidays because of the candy,” added her great-aunt, Emily Lugo, who lives in the house and has helped raise Liz since her birth.

Then came the diagnosis at age 7.

Liz still remembers watching her grandmother crying, telling family members that one of her worst fears about the girl--who had seemed thirsty all the time and had begun losing weight--had come true.

Her childhood quickly became that of a typical juvenile diabetic. Whether she was at school or home, eating, playing or sleeping, all her activities began to be bracketed by a strict medical and dietary regimen.

Liz After learned how to fill a syringe to give herself daily insulin shots. Her waking hours became punctuated by blood glucose tests. She had to watch everything she ate or drank; the candy she loved became a once-a-month treat.

Because her new lifestyle was so difficult to maintain, especially for a child, a few slip-ups sent her to the hospital. One time, Emily Lugo said, “we almost lost her.” Liz became increasingly quiet and withdrawn.

“One of the sad things about juvenile diabetes is that it forces children to grow up very quickly,” said Peter Sheridan, executive board member of the foundation’s Los Angeles chapter.

Moore, who was diagnosed in her late 20s, has lived with the disease for more than 30 years. Best known for her long-running sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and her Oscar-nominated role in the 1980 film “Ordinary People,” she also wrote a best-selling autobiography a few years ago.

Many have hailed her as a role model for showing that the ravages of diabetes can be overcome. But she says she’s no different from other diabetics, who face a daily struggle to maintain their health. “I have to be very careful,” said Moore, detailing a daily regimen of insulin injections, blood tests and scrupulous diets that parallels Liz’s routine.

Because it has been many years since she last sang “Put on a Happy Face,” Liz no longer recalls the lyrics. But she giggles in delight when thinking about another person she will soon meet through the Children’s Congress: singer Bennett, who is participating because he has a diabetic grandchild.

On the steps of the Capitol, Bennett will join the children in singing “Promise to Remember Me,” written for the event by Oscar-nominated composer Alan Silvestri, whose 8-year-old son is diabetic, and whose wife, Sandra, is co-chairwoman of the Children’s Congress.

Liz, who wants to be a doctor or lawyer, said she has been feeling better because she is finally fighting back against the disease that has taken so much away from her.

“I want to help find a cure,” she said. “I would like to live like a normal child.”