The experience of Type 1 Diabetes is collective and individual at the same time.  Everyone who has Type 1 will experience these events/symptoms/effects. Everyone who cares about (and provides care for) a person with Type 1  will also experience common events/symptoms and effects.  This is not news to anyone. It happens in just about every chronic illness and in the families who find this unwelcome guest in their homes. And hearts.

The annual fundraising “Walk to Cure Diabetes” …or as we must now call it, “The Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes” – welcome to the world of branding, it can be a building or an event but you too, with enough money, can own a temporary place in history – was in June and the amount of money raised has just been announced – Victoria $135,000; Nanaimo $35,ooo; North Island $35,000 for a Vancouver Island total of $205,000. That will buy a lot of rat chow.

The benefit of this event, however, goes so much further than the fund raising.  One of the biggest effects of a diagnosis of Type 1 on both the person diagnosed and their family, is the sense of being torn out of the world. This morning gives back a sense of community. Even if you don’t know anyone else at the event you see the other families and they still have dogs, other kids and the sun still shines on us all.

If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because I’ve written before in this blog about the walk, in 2008… I just wanted to bring it up again because I have been neglecting this blog so it seemed like a good place to start up again – on a positive note. Also it is something that is worth talking about again, even briefly, just to point out there are high points in life with Type 1.