50 Years of Dealing with an Unsavory Partner – Winnipeg Free Press

Last weekend marked 50 years since Darrin Davis was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

“I'm lucky because I don't have any complications,” said the River Heights resident. “I was able to live the life I wanted while managing my diabetes.”

He knows people who are not happy.

“I've seen him wreak havoc on some of my friends' bodies,” says Darrin. “It's not me. That's why I have to return.”

The civil servant and father of three does this through his volunteer work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada, an organization dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research.

His parents, Richard and Louise Davis, were among the founders of the Winnipeg chapter of the organization.

Darrin began volunteering in his 20s. Since then, she has served on local and national JDRF boards, participated in numerous fundraisers, and advocated for diabetes research in Canada and the US.

This has brought him into contact with many people, including politicians, business owners and people of all ages living with diabetes.

“I meet such an interesting group of people, and one thing they have in common is that they want to make a difference,” says Darrin. “They want to help bring diabetes treatment closer to reality.”

Darrin was six years old when he found out he had diabetes.

Although he was not very sick, he was eating and urinating a lot.

His mother was at a doctor's appointment and took him with her. The family doctor noticed the symptoms of the disease and suggested that he be taken to the hospital.

It was there, during the May long weekend of 1974, that he received his diagnosis.

At the time, diabetes was primarily managed through a strict diet. Darrin's mother has completely changed the way she cooks, and his parents have adjusted to life with diabetes.

When Darrin was younger, he was hospitalized for several days every year because his glucose and insulin were out of control.

In the past 30 years, he has been hospitalized only twice: once in 1994 and once in 2000.

Darrin credits advances in research and tools used to control diabetes to keep him out of the hospital.

This research and those tools were supported by the efforts of JDRF Canada.

Darrin remembers how he started checking his blood sugar levels as a teenager. Before that, he checked the presence of sugar in his urine using a test tube and tablets. Later came test strips.

He was tested in the morning, evening and before going to bed. It was like wasted effort because the result was always the same. Nothing else to do except record the results.

Today, he wears a sensor that provides information to his insulin pump, which adjusts its speed based on the results.

“Part of my deep commitment to JDRF is because of the foundation's work,” says Darrin. “They collect money and use it for research. They look at the landscape and fund the gaps.”

JDRF celebrates 50 years in Canada this year. Learn more about supporting the organization by visiting jdrf.ca/get-involved.

“By volunteering at JDRF, I feel like I'm making a difference,” says Darrin, adding that he feels like he's playing a role in finding a cure. “It's a small part, but it's a part nonetheless.”

If you know a special volunteer, please contact [email protected].