Join Team Malcolm and Friends in the Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes Sunday at Prospect Park
This is walking season for the Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). The“Walk Your Way” fund-raising event, in one form or another, has taken place annually for thirty years across Canada to support Type 1 Diabetes research, technology and disease management. Thousands of people have been collecting pledges and will be taking part in nationwide walks this month from any of 40 centralized locations.
But one group in Acton has been doing their own version of the event for the last few years by walking 5 kms around the track at Prospect Park. This is Team Malcolm, walking in support of their Type 1 Diabetes hero, eight-year old Malcolm Perkins, who was diagnosed with Type 1 when he was four years old.
“There are not enough volunteers to have a walk in every town,” according to Chrissy Perkins, Malcolm's mother. The closest one for us is London or Waterloo so we just stay home and do the walk with friends and other families.”
Type 1 Diabetes is an auto immune disease where the body attacks the cells responsible for making insulin. Someone who has type 1 diabetes will always needs an external administration of insulin, whether by pump, pen or daily injections. This is a chronic disease, with no breaks and no time off. It requires constant checking of blood glucose level against the activity one is doing. This is challenging especially if it is a little child that requires supplemental insulin.
Malcolm's mother recalls that she was very much surprised when he was diagnosed with Type 1 at such a young age. “Fortunately, we have an excellent diabetes team at Guelph General Hospital and they taught us everything we need to know. We also have a great support system in the T1D community among other parents and kids. We've been introduced to families all around Acton, Guelph, Cambridge, that has opened up our friendship circle. We learn from each other,” she said.
Besides being an important fund-raising initiative for the JDRF, the “Walk Your Way” event also raises public awareness about the disease. “It's also a celebration of 30 years of progress in treating Type 1 and the recognition that we've still got a long way to go,” according to JDRF media spokesperson Ruth Kapelis.
This will be Malcolm Perkins' fifth walk since he was diagnosed. You can join Team Malcolm for a five km walk at Prospect Park on Sunday June 11 at 10:00 am.
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