-
Mimico kids raise $5K and counting for SickKids Foundation
ETOBICOKE – Saturday’s driving rain didn’t stop six-year-old Aidan Zarand and 30 neighbourhood friends from…
When seven-year-old Rosedale resident Emma was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she had a unique insight into what was facing her.
Emma, whose last name is being withheld at her family’s request, had already learned much about the illness because her older brother Simon was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes years earlier.
Having seen her brother deal with the illness, Emma dreaded the day-to-day impacts of Type 1 diabetes.
“I still remember the day I got (the diagnosis),” she said. “I was scared because I knew I had to get needles, but I got to miss a day of school, which was awesome.”
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and therefore, unlike Type 2 diabetes, cannot be prevented through proper eating, medication or exercise. Typically affecting children, the illness affects the body’s ability to produce insulin to help metabolize glucose.
As a result, those diagnosed with the illness must live regimented lifestyles, monitoring their food intake and blood sugar levels regularly.
Children living with Type 1 diabetes typically receive 1,463 needles and 2,190 finger pokes (to test blood sugar) every year.
Emma was diagnosed with the illness last winter, just before she turned seven. Having dealt with diabetes for six months, she said she wants other children diagnosed with the disease to maintain hope, but understands through experience that that is easier said than done.
“I know it’s sad because you have to prick your finger a lot,” she said.
In past years, Emma has walked in the Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes, which raises funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada. This year’s Toronto Telus Walk takes place Sunday at the CNE’s Bandshell Park.
While she will not be able to attend this year’s event due to another family commitment, she and her friends set up a lemonade stand in their neighbourhood last weekend with proceeds going toward the Hospital for Sick Children to help with juvenile diabetes research.
“I would like to find a cure,” she said. “We were selling lemonade for a dollar but when people heard it was for SickKids, they said, ‘here’s five dollars.'”
Emma has always enjoyed the Telus Walk, from the walking itself to the various other attractions on hand.
“They have characters going around in costumes, like Mickey Mouse, and when I first saw them I actually thought it was them,” she said. “There are horses there, and it’s all really cool.”
The walk will take place in 70 communities across Canada, with roughly 50,000 participants expected to take part nationwide.
For more information on the walk, to register or to pledge a participant, visit www.jdrf.ca/walk
