Last night, I attended a Team Diabetes meeting at the Canadian Diabetes Association office on Montreal Rd. I was going there to get more information on the process to reach my goal in both fundraising and training. I also wanted to find out if I could connect with others in Ottawa that are participating and get info on setting up travel etc.
Well, by the time I left I had a whole new purpose for my fundraising goal. Initially my purpose for signing up for this half-marathon was to reach my own goal of completing a half-marathon as well as living an active, healthy lifestyle. I realized that my body has changed in the past year and that it does not respond as well to the "all you can eat" buffet's as it used to.
After last night's meeting, my fundraising purpose had broadened as I learned a lot more about Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. I realized just how serious Diabetes is and how it greatly impacts the lives of those who have it or have a family member touched by it. I also learned about the key role that the Canadian Diabetes Association plays in the lives of these people in terms of providing services and support to those touched by diabetes, bringing awareness and contributing towards the research in finding a cure.
Did you know that thanks to the fundraising efforts of people like myself and to donors like yourselves, the Canadian Diabetes Association runs an overnight camp for children with type 1 Diabetes? This is amazing as it allows children affected by Diabetes to be with other children that are just like them. Camp Banting has CHEO staff working there and the councillors all have Diabetes and have followed a strict training program. Not only does this give these children the amazing opportunity to be in a fun camp but it also gives parents a break to sleep through the nights. That's right. I learned that parents with children that have type 1 Diabetes don't get much sleep at night as they check their child's insulin levels:
1-before the child goes to bed
2-again, before one of the parents go to bed
3-the parents wake up somewhere between midnight and 2am to do another insulin check on their child
4-and then the first parent to wake up checks it again
You, see, these parents want to make sure that their child will wake up in the morning. Can you imagine how much they worry about the health and well being of their child?
This is just one of the stories that was shared that opened up my eyes to the importance of fundraising for the Canadian Diabetes Association. I hope you will keep this in mind as you support my efforts. I am committed to making a difference in the lives of Canadians touched by Diabetes and contributing to the more than 32million dollars already raised for the Canadian Diabetes Association by Team Diabetes to support the many initiatives.
