DUNNVILLE –
If there was anything to do with sports Lane Oelrich was probably involved in it.
“Any kind of sport, whether it was hockey, soccer or martial arts, Lane did it all,” said Lane’s mother, Joy Johnson. “He was very active, especially outdoors. He hunted and fished. He was also involved in the rodeo. Not many people can say their son rode a bull.”
Eight years ago Lane was diagnosed with type one juvenile diabetes, a form of diabetes that results from autoimmune distraction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.
After battling juvenile diabetes for eight years, Lane passed away last August at the age of 19.
While physically gone, Lane’s spirit lived on through his family as they worked together to raise awareness about juvenile diabetes.
On Aug. 13, about 150 people packed Dunnville’s Community Lifespan Centre for an eventful evening as part of “Family and Friends Finding A Cure,” a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Canada.
The event featured a delicious perch dinner courtesy of Minor Fisheries in Port Colborne and served by firefighters from Canborough, a silent auction and raffle. It is the hope of Lane’s family for children living with juvenile diabetes can live life insulin free.
According to statistics from JDRF, two people develop diabetes every 10 seconds while close to 200 children a day develop type one juvenile diabetes.
Lane’s stepfather, Darcy Johnson, said the family was overwhelmed by support from the community, which included financial donations and item donations for the silent auction.
“We’re very humbled by the support of everyone,” Darcy said.
“We started the fundraising six months ago but in the last two weeks everything fell together,” Joy said. “We’ve had items like Leafs jerseys and Sabres tickets given to us for the auction. The community is very generous.”
“Our main goal is to raise awareness about diabetes,” Darcy said.
A final fundraising total was not available at press time.
