That Stupid Pancreas!

WOW. I got home two and a half hours ago from JDRF Canada’s Let’s Make History Again event, and it is still the only thing I can think about. So many crazy and amazing things happened today that a billion words and images are bouncing around inside my head looking back at it all, and the only thought I can focus on long enough to be able to effectively communicate it through words is WOW, THAT WAS AMAZING. Today’s event was so incredibly unique that it is kind of difficult to explain in a way that does it justice; so, I think the best place to start is at the beginning. 100 years ago, insulin was discovered by Canadians Frederick Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto. It was first successfully used to treat type one diabetes on January 11 th , 1922. Since then, insulin has gone on to save millions of lives, it has been deemed ‘Canada’s gift to the world,’ and it is regarded as the greatest discovery in diabetes history. The universal acclaim for the gift of insuli...

Dear Type 1, First time that I heard your name I didn’t understand Everything you’d do to me The needle in my hand I braced myself and winced As I jabbed it in my thigh Hands and breaths were shaky But still, I didn’t cry A chorus of “I’m sorries” Stuck to me like glue Mourning all I’d lost that day The life I thought I knew First time I went low I was playing with my friend Sweaty, shaky, terrified I thought it was the end You’re evil, sick, horrible Cruel in every way Forcing kids to consider that It might be their last day I had a picture in my head Of what my life would be But the hell I’m living Is nothing like my dream Everything is different now From how it was before Didn’t ask for my permission Before kicking down my door You took so much, everything But let me draw the line You can’t have my love for life That, at least, is mine Sincerely, Anne Pettigrew

Earlier this week I made the (long) trek out to Hamilton from Toronto (in rush hour, no less!) to share my story at one of the  Access For All community events that JDRF Canada is hosting around Ontario, to raise awareness of the need for equal access to the advanced, life-saving and quality of life-improving technologies of CGM’s and FGM’s (if you don't know what a CGM or an FGM is, click  here  and  here  to read my posts that talk all about them!).  (Me doing my speech)  (Group shot of everyone ready for fair access to medical technologies for everyone living with type 1 diabetes in Canada) (me with local politician, MPP for Hamilton Mountain, MPP Monique Taylor. It was great to see that she cared enough to be there and learn about type 1 diabetes and why all type 1's should have fair access to lifesaving medical technologies) I always enjoy sharing my story and advocating for fellow type 1’s, and last night was great ...

Note from Anne ~ This post was written by my lovely mother who was more than happy to share some of her experience of parenting a T1Diabetic teen with an active lifestyle in summer. Many thanks to her and please enjoy! We are two and a half years into this adventure, now, and we have just begun our third summer of fun with type 1! Now, I can only speak to our own specific experiences in dealing with the extra activity, the effects of heat, and the excitement of more time with friends that summer brings because every person’s response to these factors is different. I will focus not on specific advice but rather the guiding principles I use to make sure we continue to follow our golden rule – kid first, diabetes second. Anne is one busy person, in general, but summer brings new opportunities to be out in the world, and she takes advantage of as many as she can - volunteering at different camps, going out with friends, camping out in the “boonies” of Haliburton with her Scout tr...

I have been a Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador (which, for the rest of this post, I am going to refer to as a BPYA because that's considerably shorter) for JDRF since November 2018, and I am loving every minute of it! As a BPYA, I have two main jobs. My first job is advocating for Type 1 diabetes and raising awareness through JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). At each JDRF event I volunteer at, I answer questions that people have about Type 1. I explain about the fact that it's an autoimmune condition, and that "eating too much sugar" or "not exercising enough" has nothing to do with being diagnosed with Type 1. Basically, I help to end diabetes stereotypes by educating people who don't know what Type 1 is. Advocacy and awareness go hand in hand. Advocacy leads to awareness, and awareness means that T1Diabetics can fit into society normally. Actually, we're already doing that. T1Diabetics are already a normal part of society, it...

This year's Sun Life Toronto Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF was at CANADA'S FREAKING WONDERLAND, and I really enjoyed participating in it and seeing all the people who came out to show their support! The Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF brings together 35,000 Canadians across sixty communities in the country affected by Type 1 diabetes -- T1Diabetics, their siblings, their friends, their cousins, their aunts, their uncles, their parents, their Scout leaders, their teachers -- to unite, get loud, and raise money to accelerate the pace of Type 1 diabetes research. The Toronto Walk raised about $450,000 this year! A bunch of my family and friends came out to walk with me, which I greatly appreciated and enjoyed! There were 3,000 participants in the Toronto Walk this year! The weather was absolutely perfect! Not too hot, not too cold. All in all, it was just an incredible experience. Everyone we met was really enthusiastic...

You know how most places have taxes? You get to live and work there, but depending on what your income is and how much of a profit you're making, you have to give a percentage of that profit to the place's government. I think that's fair to a certain extent: you get a little, you give a little. I think that, as a person, my physical being is sort of like a country. I am the leader of my body: the Prime Minister of Anne, if you will. As the Prime Minister of Anne, I provide my brain, lungs, liver, bladder, kidneys, heart, stomach, intestines, and a bunch of other organs, or provinces, with the energy and nutrients they need to survive. In return, they allow my body to function: my brain controls my fundamental body functions, my lungs allow me to breathe, my heart pumps blood, my stomach digests food. They get a little, they give a little. These organs all pay their taxes. The beta cells in my pancreas sort of died a few years ago, so the province of Pancreas can...

I went back to Queen's Park with JDRF this week to continue advocating for CGM ( click here for more information  on CGM's) and FGM ( click here for more information  on FGM's) funding by meeting with the Minister of Health, Health Critic, and staff from the Treasury Board, all of whom were very supportive and interested in what we had to say. (Minister Christine Elliot, Minister of Health) (Minister France Gelinas, Health Critic. The e  in her last name has the accent aigu over it, but I can't get my keyboard to insert it. My apologies!) As I mentioned previously, and as the title of this post suggests, this isn't my first time at Queen's Park. Click  here  to read my post that talks about my other meetings at Queen's Park in more detail, but for this post I just want to reiterate one basic thing: THESE DEVICES ARE LIFE-SAVING AND SHOULD BE FUNDED SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THEM!!! Families should not have to make sacrifice...