C6

JEFF DUCHARME
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

SAINT JOHN - Before the discovery of insulin by Canadian doctors Fred Banting and Charles Best, the lifespan of a child diagnosed with juvenile diabetes was two years. Research has come a long way and it's no longer a death sentence, but being injected with a needle, hooked up to a pump, and being poked with testing strips is not what a childhood should ever be.

Enlarge Photo

KâtÈ LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal

Seven-year-old Keelan Lewis, shown here with her father Scott, was an ambassador at a luncheon for World Diabetes Day on Friday.

This year's spokesmen for the Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes are Sea Dogs president Wayne Long and team captain Alex Grant. The walk funds the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and was launched Friday during World Diabetes Day at the Courtenay Bay Inn.

"There's hope in our lifetime there will be a cure," Long said.

The luncheon was designed to attract new sponsors and thank existing sponsors such as Barry McManus and the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 213 that has raised more than $60,000 over the years to help find a cure.

The room and the lunch was donated by the hotel.

Atlantic Canada has the highest rate of diabetes in Canada. In 2007, more than $600,000 was raised during the walks held in Atlantic Canada. The Saint John Walk to Cure Diabetes will be held June 24.

Scott Lewis is one of the corporate co-chairs. His daughter Keelan has type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed in 2002 while still just an infant.

"It's a day that we'll never forget," Lewis said. "Our life changed from that moment on."

With seven-year-old Keelan by his side, Lewis told the crowd assembled for the launch that children such as his daughter can't raise the funds to find a cure by themselves.

Olivia Power, one of seven Saint John youth ambassadors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, told the crowd that she knows they can beat the disease.

"Many children are depending on it," Power said. "Diabetes never sleeps and it never takes a vacation."

For Keelan, who is also an ambassador, finding a cure would mean one simple thing to her.

"No more needles," Keelan said.