Dr Jan Hux:
Diabetes Canada seeks to address the diabetes epidemic in this country. Currently, eleven million Canadians are living with either diabetes or pre-diabetes. That’s nearly one in three.

The number of Canadians with diagnosed diabetes has doubled in the last twelve years, and that growth continues with another diagnosis every three minutes.

Oria J:
I was ten years old when I found out that I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I felt guilty, because of how I saw it impacted my parents, I saw how stressed and anxious they were, and I also saw them really cry for the very first time.

Dr Jan Hux:
For someone with Type 1 diabetes, who has just taken their insulin, if their boss arrives I their office and wants them to do a quick report, they can’t do it, they must eat. So it’s that loss of flexibility, it’s the day-by-day vigilance that people live with, to try and ensure that their blood sugar levels are always in a healthy range.

Oria J:
I think the biggest challenge of Type 1 diabetes is that it never leaves your mind. No matter what you’re doing, where you’re going, it’s always there at the back of your head, saying, take care of me, give me attention.

Dr Jan Hux:
This illness carries a heavy burden of chronic complications. We know that people with diabetes account for 30% of strokes, 40% of heart attacks, 50% of dialysis starts for kidney failure, and 70% of amputations.

Oria J:
I know that if I do forget to manage my diabetes, there are really grave consequences, and that makes me stress and also makes me scared.

Dr Jan Hux:
our mission is to end the diabetes epidemic, and we do that through efforts to prevent Type 2 diabetes, to deliver better care so that people experience less burden and complications of the disease, and ultimately through research to find a cure.

Oria J:
It’s really important for organisations like these to exist. With chronic disease, there’s a lot of isolation felt. Diabetes Canada connects people and it takes away isolation while fostering community.

Dr Jan Hux:
Everything we do relies on donor dollars. FHC has helped us deliver on our mission. We’re so grateful for all of the many individuals represented in the donation and in the collective that makes that possible.

Oria J:
To the donors that have helped this charity, I’d like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I personally have been affected by donations that have been given to Diabetes Canada, and at D-camps, I was provided with a loving community and role models when I felt isolated and small.

Dr Jan Hux:
It’s that stream of revenue that allows us to make the investments that we’re making in ending the diabetes epidemic.

Oria J:
To others that are going through this, and perhaps struggling with a diabetes diagnosis, don’t let the stigmas and stereotypes of diabetes hold you back. Find strength in unity, find a community that you connect with and find others that you can confide in.