My name is Johnson and I have Diabetes. I was diagnosed at the age of 16 with Type 1 Diabetes, and have been living with this disease for the past 23 years. For 23 years now, I have had to inject myself twice sometime three times a day with insulin. For 23 years, I have needed to test my blood sugars, by pricking my fingers several times a day. Insulin has been prolonging my life and without it I would be dead. But did you know that insulin prolongs my life and is “NOT” the cure for diabetes?

How has this disease affected me over the past 23 years you ask? Well, I am grateful not to be blind, thankfully due to an amazing team of eye doctors and several laser eye surgeries to prevent diabetes blindness. One of my greatest fears, is to loose my eyesight. I keep on top of this by going regularly to the eye doctors every six months to ensure the disease does not progress any further.

I also suffer from High Blood Pressure, and must take medication to control this for the rest of my life. Do you know what can happen to you if your diabetic and suffer from undetected High Blood Pressure? Other organs can fail. I know this first hand because my kidneys are failing, and I am in need of kidney transplant. Eight years ago, my undetected high blood pressure was diagnosed, and because of the rapid failure of my kidneys, I had a surgery to put a catheter into my stomach. This catheter was in preparation for complete failure of my kidneys, where I would need to go on dialysis. That was a very scary time. I had just married Kendra and she and I were told that should we wish to have a family, that it would be better sooner than later. That was when Stephanie and Taylor were conceived and born. My little miracles, and the reason for my positive attitude in life as well as my positive attitude in fighting diabetes.

My daughter Taylor was only 4 days old when I collapsed at home, falling on Kendra and the new baby. I had complained to Kendra that I was really tired to which she replied “Your tired!? Try having a baby and then you can complain your tired!” Many times, people forget that I have this disease because I don’t look sick, and I don’t act sick. Don’t be fooled. I have a serious disease, which can cut my life short at any time. Kendra needed to Dial 911 for the first of many times throughout the past few years. After the 2 firemen, 2 policemen, and 2 paramedics arrived, they were able to finally revive me with a shot of glucose. My blood sugar had gotten dangerously low, and I was on the verge of a diabetic coma. Imagine how frightened my wife was, with Stephanie only 1 ½ years old and a Taylor just 4 days old, thinking about a life with 2 children and no father. I scared her to death! What a night!

Well that was eight years ago now, I have had this catheter inside of me, and it hasn’t needed to be used yet (a miracle by GOD all on it’s own). But my kidneys are struggling, and have been getting worse with each doctor’s visit. I am being closely monitored now and have been told by my transplant specialists that the time is drawing nearer, and dialysis is only a few months away for me now. I am scared. Now I embark on yet another Journey into the disease I know as diabetes.

I have opted to try peritoneal dialysis, which means, I will clean my blood of toxins 4 times a day. Through a tube in my stomach I will connect to bags of fluid, in which I must first flush the toxins from my body, and then hook another bag up to put clean fluids back in. Each cycle should take approximately 40 minutes, and I will need to do one exchange in the morning, at least one or two throughout my workday and again later in the evening. Now my little girls will have to watch daddy do this each morning and evening, and ask questions like “Does it hurt daddy?”, and I will have to explain this to them so they are not scared. Did you know that in order to go on “THE LIST” to receive a kidney transplant, that you must first be on dialysis? Do you know that there is a three year waiting list to receive a kidney? Did you know that even after I receive a kidney, that I will still be a diabetic? So not only will I need to be on anti-rejection drugs for the remainder of my life, I will still need to take insulin. The only way not to be a diabetic any longer would be for me to receive a double-transplant. Kidney and pancreas transplant that is not offered here in Ottawa, only Toronto, and it’s a bit more complicated of a surgery.

I am telling my story to you all my friends, that you may better understand what it means to be a diabetic. Surely you know of others who are diabetic, but you may or may not be aware of it’s possible complications. Many people think…taking insulin is the cure, but I wanted to educate everyone into another way of thinking. Once you are diagnosed with diabetes, insulin can prolong you life, but it is not the cure, and many people do suffer from further complications associated with this disease.

I ask you to imaging yourselves in my shoes, telling a girlfriend your diabetic and thinking maybe it will scare her away. Think about having your children watch you take needles everyday, and think about performing dialysis 4 times a day, and how all of it would fit into your busy lives.

I am asking that each one of you who reads this story, to please help me raise funds for this cause which is near and dear to my heart. My wife informed me, that she was going to run a marathon for diabetes this year. She heard about it on the radio, and felt that this was one way she could do something for me and my disease, she said it made her feel less helpless, and made her feel like she could do something for me.

Now those of you who know me, know that I couldn’t have my wife running a marathon without me now, could I? So I signed up too! We are trying to raise enough funds, so that we can both run the “Team Diabetes Marathon” in Hawaii in December of 2006, and we need your help. I am asking that you not only give generously, but that you ask others to give generously too! You’d be amazed at how many people in your social circle have or know of someone who has diabetes. Please ask them to help out our cause too! All donations over $15 are entitled to a tax receipt. Do you know of some corporation that would be willing to donate to our cause, as well as receive the tax credit? If so, please help Kendra and I, and tell our story in the hopes that they too will make a donation.

Kendra and I wish to thank you in advance for all your love and support! THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Johnson John
Team Diabetes Honolulu 2006