Help Rob raise money

I have raised money for many charities over the years but this time is different for me.  This time, it’s personal.  There are many charities and many stories out there…but every once in a while you need to tell your own.

Diagnosed in 2001 with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).  In 3 months, lost over 70 pounds…and not in a good way.  Insulin allergies followed up with a hypersensitivity in my legs so bad that I couldn’t have anything touch them.  Slept about 1 hour a day, and that was usually in a hot bath with my legs out of the water.  Numerous therapies and drugs that didn’t help. This went on for 7 months.  It was a dark time in my life. Not knowing if the pain would ever stop. (Some might remember me standing barefoot in the snow icing my feet between patients…not the best look but it’s what I had to do to keep working).

Insulin shots (5-10 per day) for the last 20 years!!!   That’s somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 shots!  This past year I got on an Omnipod insulin pump which delivers my insulin without the needles.  Basically 1 needle every 3 days when I move my pump to a different location on my body.  It’s been a great addition to my diabetes management.  It isn’t perfect but it helps.
There a many myths and unknowns about diabetes out there.  I hear them all the time.  It’s amazing to me that there are about 3 million people in Canada living with diabetes and there is still a major lack of understanding about it.  
Diabetes is not about watching how much sugar you eat.  You don’t get Diabetes because you ate too much sugar as a kid.  
Diabetes is about management…every minute of every day.  No Days Off.  It’s about knowing everything that you eat and everything you do, changes your body systems and has an effect on your blood sugar.  It’s having sudden mood and mental changes when not in normal range.  It’s going from exhausted and irritable to confused and anxious and struggling to keep it together.  It’s doing everything “right” and still falling out of normal range.  Its trying to keep up with a conversation when your brain can’t think as fast as you want it to.  It’s struggling sometimes to put a simple sentence together.  It’s trying to be in a room with friends and act “normal” when your brain and body aren’t functioning properly.  It’s hiding your embarrassment.   It’s feeling inadequate.  It’s a complete roller coaster of emotions that can hit hard and fast even when you’ve done everything well.  
Basically…It’s a grind!  Every minute, every hour, everyday!  
I hope this small glimpse into my life gives you some perspective that you didn’t have before. I hope it gives you some patience when dealing with a diabetic in your life.  I hope it makes you really listen and try to understand what a diabetic is going through and not just ask how their sugars are.  
I am running the Calgary marathon for Alberta Diabetes Foundation and all the people in Alberta who deal with the complications of diabetes everyday. Running a marathon is not easy and running while trying to monitor and maintain your blood sugars is freaking crazy.  Crazy!   A lot of training, experimenting, testing, failures, successes, leaning on loved ones to pick you up from the side of the road when your blood sugars crashed, time away from work, friends, and family, putting 6 months of training all together for what you hope will be one successful day at the race.  
If you can help support the ADF and myself, it would be greatly appreciated.  Hopefully my story has educated you and will help you be more understanding of a diabetic in your life.  Be Kind All.