Seven-year-old Meredith Whitt shows off her insulin pump, which many people confuse for a cell phone or calculator attached to her hip.

In her short life, 7-year-old Meredith Whitt of Springville has seen a lot. Each day, she pricks her fingers and manages a pump. She counts carbs and keeps meticulous track of what she eats and drinks.

But having juvenile diabetes isn’t much of a hardship for Meredith. It’s a way of life.

Meredith’s diabetes was first diagnosed when she was 2 years old.

“We actually had a friend in Gadsden whose daughter died from undiagnosed diabetes,” said Meredith’s mom, Laurel Whitt. “The symptoms include vomiting and flu-like symptoms, so they just thought she had the flu.”

Scared, Laurel looked up the symptoms of diabetes online because she wanted to be able to know the difference between the flu and more serious conditions in her child. The knowledge came in handy a year later, when Meredith started being more thirsty than normal and soaking through her diapers quickly.

When she developed a yeast infection due to the situation, her dad took her to the doctor one day.

“I told him, ‘I know you think I’m crazy, but have them check for diabetes,’” Laurel said.

Her daughter was diagnosed that day, starting a lifetime of pinpricks and needle sticks to monitor Meredith’s blood sugar and to administer insulin.

Today, though, you couldn’t tell by Meredith’s outward appearance or outlook on life that she lives with a serious illness. For Meredith, that’s just the way things have always been.

“When she was four, she told me ‘I’m not doing any more shots, mommy.’ So we got her an insulin pump. It seems like a grown-up conversation for a four-year-old, but she’s had to be very mature about it,” Laurel said.

While many kids at school think Meredith has a cell phone or a calculator attached to her waist, it allows her to lead a healthy and active life. When she’s not at school, Meredith participates in softball, gymnastics and countless other physical activities.

 “Meredith just kind of does everything,” Laurel said. “If you ask her if she wants to do something, like be in gymnastics, she just says ‘OK.’”

So when she was asked to be one of two delegates representing Alabama in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Childrens’ Congress 2011, her response was another “OK.”

Every year, JDRF brings more than 100 children with Type 1 diabetes to Washington, D.C., in order to meet with legislators and even the president to share information on what it’s like to live with juvenile diabetes.

During their trip, they’ll meet with their state representatives on Capitol Hill, and the president has even made appearances at the event in the past. They’ll also sing with Crystal Bowersox, a former American Idol contestant who has Type 1 diabetes.

“The biggest things I want to do is go to the zoo, the museum and sight seeing,” Meredith said. “I don’t really want to meet the president, because that’s kind of boring.”

While Laurel quickly added that her daughter didn’t realize how big of an opportunity she’s been granted, her entire family is excited to share information about life as a child with diabetes.

“It’s hard. The hardest part for parents [of kids with diabetes] has to be waking up in the middle of the night to check their blood sugar,” Meredith said.

“It never sleeps,” Laurel added. “You never really know how hard it is until you have a child with juvenile diabetes who depends on you to keep them alive.”