“I was diagnosed with hyperglycemia in 2003. At that time, I was about 225 lbs, 5’4″ and a health care professional. I had every symptom but was largely in denial. I then set out to become more active and lose weight. I learned all I could about foods and began making small changes every day–toward my goal of losing weight and becoming more active. I did things like parking farther away from the door, taking stairs when I could and looking for ways to increase my activity level. I also had a good look at my eating habits. 8 months later, I had lost 60 pounds and normalized my blood sugar. Today I am still diabetes free. I now work in the field of Aboriginal Diabetes Prevention. I am always spreading the word on how to prevent type 2 diabetes and I try to educate people on nutrition, and I lead physical activity groups. For the past 2 years I have been a leader in the Honour Your Health Challenge in BC leading a group of regular people through a 13-week training program in preparation for the annual Vancouver Sun Run which is a 10k marathon. I have RUN this 10K for the past 2 years. I would not be doing this if I had not had a brush with type 2diabetes. Believe it or not, this prediabetes scare, directly caused me to change my life and today I am healthy and happier than ever. Who would have thought a brush with diabetes could be a positive thing!?”