PPS General Manager Chris Hughes appreciates all the support generated for “Ally’s Allies,” a group rallying around Hughes’ daughter, Ally, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 19. With MPW’s help, Ally’s Allies raised roughly $3,000 toward diabetes research during the Canadian 2023 Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF.
“The Walk was in a beautiful part of Burlington, (Ontario) going through the woods,” Hughes said of the 5k event. “It’s nice to get a group of people with something in common together like that at a nice, casual outdoor event. People were bringing their dogs and kids, all that sort of stuff.” He said his wife, Sandra, was in charge of fundraising for Ally’s Allies, which was one of several groups participating in the September 24 Burlington Walk.
The JDRF sponsors more than 40 Walk events throughout Canada during the summer and the Walk has raised more than $137 million toward diabetes research to date, making it one of the longest-running and most successful fundraising events in Canada.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition in which insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. Insulin is the hormone made by the pancreas that allows the body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in food consumed for energy.
To survive, people with Type 1 diabetes must monitor their blood sugar throughout the day and take insulin via several daily injections or an insulin pump. Insulin is a treatment for Type 1 diabetes, but there is no cure.
Type 1 diabetes is far less common than Type 2 diabetes, which is significantly different from Type 1. “At least with my daughter, people not knowing the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 annoys her to the Nth degree,” Hughes said. “You see ads for medications that are probably common and useful for Type 2, but people come up to my daughter and other people with Type 1 and say, ‘hey, have you tried…’ It doesn’t work like that.”
Hughes said his daughter is learning to adapt to living with Type 1 well. “She’s tough and that’s helpful,” he said. “It’s a mentally stressful thing, that you need to monitor and treat yourself every hour, night and day.” Hughes said this was the first year Ally’s Allies participated in the Sun Life Walk event and the group thanks MPW for its monetary contribution. “Ally felt very supported,” he said.