Scale of Impact
$2,150.00
Money Raised
2
Projects Funded
500+
People Helped
35
Communities Served
Our Stories
Diabetes affects millions of people and their families every day. We have heard countless stories surrounding diabetes and the impact it has to those involved. Believe it or not, there are more success stories out there than we hear about. The following stories are a testament to the difference that a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, taking action, and communities can make.
Calvin
Featured StoryHi, my name is Calvin Dwight Harris. I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic in the fall of 2009. I had lost a tremendous amount of weight and noticed that I was consuming a lot of water on a daily basis. It was only after scheduling a doctor’s appointment and testing my fasting blood sugar that I discovered that I was a Type 2 diabetic. Since my diagnosis, I’ve worked hard on improving my eating habits and working out at the gym at least three times a week to help reduce my overall blood sugar level (A1C). I also take my prescribed medication on a daily basis. Coming to terms my diagnosis has motivated me to help in the fight to find a eventual cure for diabetes.
Diabetes has also affected several other members of my family. My oldest brother; Dennis “Sir D” Harris, passed away in 2001 after falling into a coma for close to six weeks from complications with Type 2 diabetes. This disease has also affected my mother, sister, & brother. It is my life long passion and goal to do all that’s within me to help educate and facilitate the means to find an eventual cure for diabetes.
I am a 50 year old male and I have had Type 1 diabetes for 27 years. The biggest challenge for me in being an insulin-dependent diabetic has been mainly rooted in fear and loneliness. The fear is driven by the daily unpredictability of the disease and the havoc it can play on my body and life. The loneliness is in the daily management of my blood sugar levels with insulin. There are so many factors involved in its determination and calculation. Insulin shots are like trying to hit a moving target as they are used to compensate how high I think my blood sugar will rise or fall based on carb, protein, fat and calorie intake, exercise duration and intensity, illness and anticipated stress level for that day. I have had a couple near death experiences, ambulance and emergency room visits, which I realize were the result of my miss-calculations. I feel guilty when I have any episode related to diabetes as some family, friends, and co-workers view them as my failure in my care and management. Their understanding is that all episodes can be avoided as there is not much grace in having diabetes. Victories are seldom celebrated but defeats are all recognized and magnified. I get tired of taking all of the shots, pricking my fingers, the medications, the doctor’s appointments, managing my abdomen inserted blood glucose monitoring system and not feeling normal and in control. I struggle with feeling depressed, angry, defeated, and scared and in getting complacent with fighting this disease.
Bob
Featured Story
Bob
Featured StoryI am a 50 year old male and I have had Type 1 diabetes for 27 years. The biggest challenge for me in being an insulin-dependent diabetic has been mainly rooted in fear and loneliness. The fear is driven by the daily unpredictability of the disease and the havoc it can play on my body and life. The loneliness is in the daily management of my blood sugar levels with insulin. There are so many factors involved in its determination and calculation. Insulin shots are like trying to hit a moving target as they are used to compensate how high I think my blood sugar will rise or fall based on carb, protein, fat and calorie intake, exercise duration and intensity, illness and anticipated stress level for that day. I have had a couple near death experiences, ambulance and emergency room visits, which I realize were the result of my miss-calculations. I feel guilty when I have any episode related to diabetes as some family, friends, and co-workers view them as my failure in my care and management. Their understanding is that all episodes can be avoided as there is not much grace in having diabetes. Victories are seldom celebrated but defeats are all recognized and magnified. I get tired of taking all of the shots, pricking my fingers, the medications, the doctor’s appointments, managing my abdomen inserted blood glucose monitoring system and not feeling normal and in control. I struggle with feeling depressed, angry, defeated, and scared and in getting complacent with fighting this disease.
Spence
Featured StoryMy name is Spence Finlayson, a Bahamian from Nassau, Bahamas and I was diagnosed about 13 years ago with type 2 Diabetes. I was losing a lot of weight and was always extremely thirsty. I was afraid of going to the doctor to find out what was wrong with me.
One night at a meeting that I was chairing, a friend of mine said to me after the meeting, you need to get yourself checked out, you are losing a lot of weight and your face is now looking funny.” So, I asked him where should I go, and he responded ”go to the nearest Government Clinic.”
I had never been to one of these public clinics before so I drove to the Elizabeth Estates Clinic. When the nurse saw me she said “my God Mr. Finlayson, your sugar is 500, you are a diabetic, go straight to the Princess Margaret Hospital, call your wife and tell her to bring you some clothes.”
I tell you today that was the longest drive of my life, I kept thinking about amputations and blindness and having to take needles on a regular basis. Well the doctors were able to get my sugar down to around 100 and I was able to be discharged. And so I am now on oral medication and insulin to keep my diabetes in check. I must add that my mother, sister and nephew are all diabetics.