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Team Diabetes: Living without limits
Being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 12 is an experience not many people can say they’ve endured. Your life is turned upside down. You are forced to learn at an exceedingly fast pace how to manually keep your blood sugars at a constant level despite fluctuations caused by food, stress, physical activity, anxiety and all other normal activities and emotions encountered in a day; and this is only scratching the surface. Multiple insulin injections a day and numerous blood glucose tests with a needle is scary, especially for a young teenager who seems to suddenly have the weight of the world on his shoulders. The dangers of high and low blood sugars and their complications will always be on your mind, but most of all, you’ll be thinking about what you won’t be able to do with your life now that you have Type 1 Diabetes.
This last point really stuck with Team Diabetes participant, Tyler Pearce for a long time. The things he wouldn’t be able to do with his life when he found out at the age of 12 that he was living with Type 1 diabetes. It wasn’t until he attended a conference where a young man with Type 1 diabetes spoke about his experience climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest free standing mountain in the world, while training to summit Mt. Everest. It truly inspired Tyler and stuck with him for years. At that moment he changed his outlook on what living with Type 1 diabetes brings to the table, and realized it didn’t have to be in the way of how he wanted to live his life. Through the years he always kept that in mind, no matter what his goals or how ambitious he thought they may be. In 2015 he brought those dreams into realization when he entered his first half marathon.
Team Diabetes proudly supported Tyler when he set out to run his first ever half marathon at the 2015 BMO Vancouver Marathon! Along with a dedicated training program he raised funds to support research and programs offered by the Canadian Diabetes association to the over 10-Million Canadians affected by the disease. Not only was he raising funds and overcoming his own barriers, he was raising awareness with his bright Team Diabetes jersey. A mere 2 months after the half marathon, Tyler summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.
The funds raised by our dedicated Team Diabetes participants go towards programs like camp Kakhamela in BC for children living with Type 1 diabetes, educational outreach services, self-management programs and advocacy efforts to secure proper pharmaceutical care for Canadians living with diabetes or prediabetes. At our organization we like to empower participants, giving them the opportunity to overcome their barriers to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle. We have a distance and destination for everyone no matter what their fitness level and hope to give Canadians the opportunity to get active. Whether it’s a national event like the BMO Vancouver Marathon, or an international event like the Reykjavik Marathon in Iceland or conquering the Great Wall of China, we have something for everyone.
By joining a local event like the 2016 BMO Vancouver Marathon, Team Diabetes Participants will receive:
- Guaranteed race registration (we will cover your registration fees)
- Official Team Diabetes tech shirt or jersey
- Fundraising tools and support
- Personalized, fundraising webpage
- Free electronic monthly newsletter
- Travel fundraising tiers available to those coming from out of province
Already registered and would like to participate as part of our team? No problem! If you raise the minimum goal of $350 we will reimburse your race fees!
To learn more about how you can get involved in a Team Diabetes national or international event visit www.TeamDiabetes.ca or contact [email protected].
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