Ballet takes hard work and dedication, and is a spectacle of elegance and grace. But even during her best practices and pleas, Anna Overholt is putting up a tough battle.

Kristen Jorgensen, Anna’s mom, remembers the day her daughter had to be rushed to the hospital.

“The nurse called me one day and was like ‘something's not right with Anna you need to come get her right away,'” recalled Jorgensen.

Anna’s strength isn’t just from being a dancer, the teen is also a Type 1 diabetic, diagnosed as a young child.

“From there we took the ambulance from Albany Med, and I spent I think three days in the ICU there,” said Anna.

And while she can still be a typical teen, focusing on homework and essays, there’s the worry of her blood sugar always looming. Life looks a little different for Anna. To stay alive, she is connected to an insulin pump, and sensors that recognize the highs and lows of her blood sugar.

“[It takes a] very small needle and that’s where the insulin flows into my body,” said Anna, explaining how her insulin pump works.

The technology Anna uses can cost thousands of dollars, and the insulin inside of it is also a big cost, even with insurance.

“Works out to be an additional $330-400 a month, and that’s with phenomenal insurance. So, I’m grateful we have that, but I think a lot about what about families who don’t have that, but also Anna as she’s gets older,” adds Jorgensen.

The technology is her lifeline and it has come a long way, even in just a few years since Anna’s been diagnosed.

“I don’t think, without that, a lot of the activities I do, I’d be able to do without the technology I have,” said Anna.

And now there’s a push to make caring for diabetes more affordable, including a cost cap on insulin, to provide relief for every family. The Affordable Insulin Now Act would make insulin, at most, $35 a vial for those with insurance or on Medicare.

Right now, prices can range up to hundreds or thousands of dollars for a single vial, and it’s estimated diabetics could spend more than $6,000 on insulin a year.

Those prices are leaving one in four diabetics to take desperate and dangerous measures, like using expired insulin or using less insulin than needed to help ration their supplies, and even causing deaths across the country.

They're a scary reality for those who live with the disease, including Anna and her family who are learning to navigate life with the disease.

“All these families are like ‘I’m saving for college, I’m saving for college.’ I’m also saving to be able to help her out because not all jobs come with insurance,” added Jorgensen.

The change would be able to give so may Americans, including Anna, the opportunity to focus on what’s important to her. On top of school and dance, Anna is also a motivational speaker. She raises awareness for those living with Type 1.

She has an incredible outlook on the disease and wants to help others also living with it.

“It’s nice to be able to have that voice that I can share and introduce those people to what Type 1 is,” said Anna.