The Incredible EO Member Network
Jessie Frank
In 2007, my six-year-old daughter, Perri, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes— the incurable kind that strikes only 5 percent of diabetics. Insulin must be delivered into my child’s bloodstream via a tube into her body 24/7 for the rest of her life.
The Jonas Brothers are a popular Disney teen boy band, and the youngest brother, 15-year-old Nick Jonas, was also recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Perri saw some video clips of Nick announcing that he has diabetes, and the inspiration and connection for her was immediate and overwhelming. For the first time since her diagnosis, it started making sense to her.
In one of the video clips, Nick says, "Why me?" and Perri screamed, "That’s what I said!"
Nick has provided an answer that makes some sort of sense to my confused, and often bewildered, child.
After seeing the clips, Perri longed to meet Nick Jonas. If it were any other celebrity, I would have held back on the indulgence, but I knew that just a brief conversation with Nick could provide years of inspiration for Perri.
At the time, I didn’t have any connections to accomplish this, so I sent an e-mail to the EO LA chapter hoping that someone had a connection and could help.
Almost immediately, Doug Pick from EO LA forwarded my e-mail to his friend, Scot Finck— the Vice President of Disney Records!
Twenty seconds after Doug wrote his e-mail, Scot called to let him know that Perri’s wish would come true. We would see the Jonas Brothers—and meet them backstage—at the Georgia National Fair!
The e-mail chain continued, and we also received free earplugs and blood sugar stabilizing drinks for the concert from other EOers who were touched by our story.
The concert was amazing. Before the show, Perri and the rest of our crew met the three Jonas boys. Perri told Nick about her diabetes, and they compared insulin pumps. A photographer even spotted them and asked Perri and her friend to come back later and pose for pictures alone with Nick. Wow!
Before she fell asleep that night, Perri proclaimed, "Mommy, this was the best day of my life so far!"
I can’t thank Doug Pick and Scot Finck—and the others who helped along the way—enough for their generosity. I felt such overwhelming emotion, knowing that I could provide my daughter with some purpose to this senseless disease.
What an incredible network we EO members have!
