She dances, she races, she advocates and she keeps on going despite the challenges Type 1 diabetes throws her way.

"The first few years were pretty difficult learning how to manage it and check my blood sugar," Hydee Lyman, 15, of Hayden said Tuesday.

The incoming Coeur d'Alene High School sophomore has been selected as one of three Gem State delegates and the only from North Idaho who will attend the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children's Congress in Washington, D.C., on July 7-9, where she will be a voice for herself and the 9.4 million people around the world who are living with Type 1 diabetes.

"We're going to be talking to members of Congress to advocate for research, funding and affordable supplies and insulin," Hydee said.

Hydee was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 10. She exhibited symptoms for about six months before the diagnosis.

"I was super queasy and nauseous," she said. "I was super sleepy, over-urinating and without energy."

"Lots of thirst and lethargy," her mom, Heather Eller, said.

Test results showed her blood sugar was over the limit of an average person, and she was in diabetic ketoacidosis — lacking necessary insulin and showing dangerously high levels of ketones, which are acids the body makes when fat is used for energy because glucose is sparse.

“I had definitely mixed emotions," Hydee said. "I was scared and worried to see how I would go with it and how I would manage it, how my life would go on from there and how my normal activities and hobbies would be affected by the diagnosis."

Five years later, she manages symptoms, supplies and monitoring devices all while performing with Dance Theatre Northwest, where she has been an avid competitive dancer since age 3 and serves as a role model to her younger counterparts.

She said she loves how dancing allows her to artistically express herself and her feelings, "especially with the diabetes as it gets my mind off the disease."

She also competes in the National Hot Rod Association's Junior Street program at the Qlispé Raceway Park in Airway Heights.

And in the racing world she is also a fierce competitor, especially for someone who doesn't even have her driver's license yet.

"The past two racing seasons I've been the track champion for Junior Street," Hydee said. "It makes me feel free. I like going fast. I just feel like it takes my mind off things and I'm doing what I love.” 

In a media outreach letter, Nicci Rocco, development manager for the Pacific Northwest team at Breakthrough T1D (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), described Hydee as a dynamic teen who never lets diabetes stand in her way.

"Hydee proudly wears her insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor on stage and at the track to show others what’s possible with T1D," Rocco wrote in the letter. "She's passionate about improving access to insulin and medical supplies and hopes to become a pediatric endocrinologist — or open her own inclusive dance studio — one day."

With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little to no insulin, a hormone that allows sugar to enter cells to make energy. This chronic condition has no cure.

Hydee keeps a positive mental attitude through the highs and the lows of this disease, even poking fun at it with shirts and pictures that say, "Don't mess with me — I attacked my own pancreas!"

But on a serious note, she understands the severity of this condition and how it can cause irreparable harm to those who don't have access to health care, medication and equipment, such as the continuous pump she wears to ensure she receives insulin when she needs it.

"It's so hard to manage if you don’t have the right care and medication," Hydee said. "It can cause long-term effects. People can lose vision and other symptoms if they don't have the right care."

Her mom said before insurance, the insulin Hydee needs costs $2,200 out of pocket each month. Pump supplies, including cannulas, needles and tubing, can cost as much as $1,000 a month. The continuous glucose monitor is another cost of up to $1,200 per month.

"We're lucky to have insurance," Eller said.

Hydee is eager to speak to America's elected officials and stand up for the Type 1 diabetes community. She has already connected online with about 30 of the other young representatives and is looking forward to making even more new friends.

"I’m excited to meet other kids and build connections and bonds with other kids with the disease," Hydee said.

Visit cc.breakthrought1d.org and click on "Meet the Delegates" and search for Idaho to see Hydee's introduction video.

    Hydee Lyman participates in the Groove Dance Competition at North Idaho College in February. The 15-year-old dancer was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10 and will advocate for people with the chronic condition at the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children’s Congress in July.

    Hydee Lyman is seen with track operator RJ Nomee June 2, 2024 at Qlispé Raceway Park in Airway Heights. Hydee, holding an award, is a top racer in the Junior Street program.
  

    Hydee Lyman is seen on her birthday April 8, 2021, wearing her "superhero cape." Now 15, Hydee will go to Washington, D.C. in July to advocate for people with Type 1 diabetes, a chronic ailment with which she was diagnosed at age 10.
  

  

    Hydee Lyman is seen in the hospital Sept. 13, 2020, cracking a smile after she had time to process her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Her actual diagnosis date was Sept. 11, 2020.