I have been living with Diabetes for 16 years and I dont let it slow me down! A first time runner completed the Rome marathon in just over 5 hours! I control my Diabetes with an insulin pump and love it. I’m a Diabetes Champion because I educate everyone who has been touched by the disease that wants to listen to me!
I am a Diabetes Champion because of my commitment to my mother and her daily battle with Diabetes. Paulette Evraire has always been the Rock of Gibralter in the Evraire clan and she is tougher than any linebacker that I had the unfortunate luck of meeting on the football field. She never wore her battle on her sleeve. She quietly went about living with Diabetes never wanting to make a big deal of the challenges she faced.
In a time where people are quick to trumpet their own personal success my mother remained steely eyed and silent. I was born on her birthday (July 17th, 1965), we are the only ones in the family of 8 to throw a ball left handed and every time jersey’s were handed out at the start of my hockey, baseball or football season I did my best to get number 17 in honor of my mother. When I struggled in my debut as a Team Diabetes marathon runner my mother’s confidence in me gave me strength. With 5km left in the 2004 Honolulu Marathon and my doubts of finishing the race increasing, many people came to mind. People I had met as the Sports Director at A-TV that were affected by diabetes on a daily basis! None stood out more than my mother. Like all great mothers she saw me to the finish line. She was at home tracking my efforts on the computer. She was thousands of miles away in Ottawa and was right beside me in Honolulu all in the same breath. I am a diabetes champion because my life is blessed with a diabetes champion…Paulette Evraire.
When my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes eighteen years ago at the age of twenty one, I knew virtually nothing about diabetes. She was going to university in Scotland at the time and the International Diabetes Association was a wonderful source of information about living with diabetes for both of us. I learned that I was not alone in my ignorance – most people do not know very much about diabetes, in particular, that type 2 diabetes, the most prevalent type, is to at least some extent a lifestyle disease that can be prevented by a combination of a healthy life style, nutritious diet and exercise. I think it is important to share what I have learned and therefore volunteer as a Speaker with the Ottawa Canadian Diabetes Association Speaker’s Bureau, making presentations to all sorts of community groups spreading the word that diabetes can be prevented, and if not prevented, at least controlled. I also help to raise funds for diabetes research – I am convinced that with all the research going on in different parts of the world right now, a cure for diabetes is an achievable goal and I want to be part of making that happen, not just for my daughter but for all who live with what is a very challenging condition.
Jen Alexander was diagnosed 22 years ago when she was 13 years old – back when blood tests took 3-5 minutes. Her first open water swim was at diabetes camp, and after a fish gave her a funny look while she was swimming and she vowed she’d never do it again.
Recently, after swimming for 19 hours and 17 minutes, Jen became the first person to swim a double-crossing of Canada’s Northumberland Strait (from New Brunswick to PEI, then back to New Brunswick). During the best 10 hours of this world-record swim, her blood sugar averaged 6.2 mmol/L without any lows.
In 2007, Jen was awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Inspiration Award. In 2008, Jen was honored with the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association’s “Athlete of the Year” award.
Day care worker, university student, track-and-field athlete and Team Diabetes Participant
“I established a great relationship at the daycare where I work, with a young girl who has type 1 diabetes. Connecting to Erica, I really felt the need to give back. As a competitive track and field athlete at the University of Manitoba, it was a logical step for me to join Team Diabetes. I’m training for the Rio de Janeiro marathon while raising funds for the Canadian Diabetes Association. That’s how I’m a Diabetes Champion.”
Laurette is an excellent volunteer. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to the Canadian Diabetes Association despite the fact that she was working full-time and attending UPEI as a full-time student. Laurette is also one of our Camp Counselors and is a Canadian Diabetes Association voting delegate. Laurette was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 6 years and has been living with diabetes for 16 years. We are very proud to have Laurette as one of our key volunteers.
Renee is a diabetic educator at Tampa General Hospital. I have been living with type 2 for 17 years and have not moved past the pills thanks in part to her help and encouragement. She works tirelessly to educate the public and help everyone, regardless of availability of funds with valuable information, monitors, guidance.
On 21 December 2004 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. On 22 December I began a walk-to-run program to take control of my life. In February 2005 I joined Team Diabetes to raise funds and awareness of diabetes by completing the Honolulu Marathon on 11 December 2005. By July 2006 my diabetologist advised me that I no longer needed to take my metformin, that diet and exercise were sufficient to control my condition.
Meanwhile, I have been doing what I can to help educate others and to assist others in making the necessary lifestyle changes to maintain good health. I have participated as a group run leader in all four of the Cornwall Multisport Club Learn to Run clinics. I am a member of the Canadian Diabetes Association and assist where I can with their programs. I am considering running the Ottawa Half-Marathon in May 2010 with Team Diabetes to help celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Team.
I am the mother of a juvenile diabetes champion. I believe we worked together to successfully manage his diabetes when he was diagnosed the at the age of fourteen. He lives a healthy and active lifestyle and is living his life to the fullest. It has not stopped him from living and he takes nothing for granted. At this time in his life he walks the annual Walk-a-Thon in June each year and we give a monthly donation to the Canadian Diabetes Association.
I believe this person is a champion for many reasons. They have worked hard on controlling their diabetes through diet, exercise and a good insulin regimen. This person is also becoming an RCMP officer. They had worked hard over the past year with various tests, controlling their diabetes, and as well being a counselor for diabetes camp and organizing a fundraiser for the Canadian Diabetes program.
