Carey and Diane Gleason know better than most the challenges of living with juvenile diabetes. They have not one, but two sons who were diagnosed with the disease when they were children.
Twenty years ago, when Carey and Diane鈥檚 elder son, Christopher, was two years old, they had a real scare when initial diagnoses of the flu turned out to be wrong. He wound up in hospital in Regina for two-and-a-half weeks.
鈥淗e got very ill, he was very close to going into a coma,鈥� Carey said.
鈥淢y wife took him to emergency and actually [Regina pediatrician] Dr. [Biswa] Datta just happened to walk by the room, looked at him through the door and said 鈥榗heck his blood sugar鈥� and it was off the scale.鈥�
Juvenile diabetes, or Type 1 as it is now more commonly referred to, has a prevalence in the under 19 population of somewhere under one per cent. It does have a genetic component to it, however. Although not fully understood, first-degree relatives of a diabetic (i.e., children, siblings) may have up to a 10 times greater risk of developing the disease.
Still, the chances of a second child being diagnosed are less than five聽 per cent and it was a shocker for Carey and Diane although they now look on the bright side.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e upset when it happens, obviously, but I think it was easier on him as well, because he saw his brother, his whole life growing up his brother had diabetes and he knew what his brother was going through and I think it really helped him. It helped us too recognize the signs.鈥�
About 15 years ago, Carey said, Randy Durovick, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) fundraising coordinator for Regina, approached the family about getting a JDRF Walk For The Cure event going in Yorkton.
Diane鈥檚 father, Mike Kaminski, was also a Type 1 diabetic since childhood. Carey was inspired to get involved and in that first year they managed to get a few people together and launched what has now become a significant fundraiser locally.
This year鈥檚 walk, scheduled for June 7, is dedicated to Mike Kaminski who died this past November. When Mike was diagnosed, diabetes was not that far removed from being a death sentence. In those days, the equipment was crude, victims of the disease had to boil and sharpen needles and the insulin supply, completely livestock-derived, was not nearly as stable as it today.
Even in the 20 years since Christopher was diagnosed their have been big changes in the management of the disease and progress toward a cure, something Carey attributes largely to the efforts of the JDRF.
鈥淓ven just the basic meters for checking blood sugar,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 remember when you think the kids are having low blood sugar and you poked them and you鈥檙e waiting for that 45 seconds for that result and it seems like an hour and a half, now it鈥檚 five seconds and you have your readings.
鈥淪imple little things like that and just the methods of giving insulin. We had syringes and vials and now they have injection pens that are pre-loaded with insulin and pumps. And they鈥檝e got continuous blood monitoring now and they鈥檙e not that far away now from having an artificial pancreas. That鈥檚 something the JDRF has been working on and doing research on islet transplants and they鈥檝e had some success with that and that鈥檚 all funded through the JDRF.鈥�
Carey said anyone who is interested in getting involved in the walk still have time to do so by registering at www.jdrf.ca/walk. For more information potential walkers can also call Carey at 306-621-7400 or email [email protected].
