Children??tablishing this event for Children??e recruitment of physician-scientists in diabetes-endocrinology.
Jill Smith is the public relations director for Children??celebrated his fourth birthday, started school and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Marc Beneteau, Jonathan’s father, said he was first concerned last summer when Jonathan became unusually thirsty and was frequently going to the washroom.
“At first, it just seemed weird, he was even getting up in the middle of the night to get a drink and at first we thought it was a little phase,” Beneteau said. “The woman who watches him in the summer and her sister are diabetic and she started mentioning that there may be some cause for concern so we took him in to see the family doctor and, sure enough, we were rushed off to the hospital to get him checked out.”
As it turned out, frequent urination and increased thirst are classic symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, along with increased hunger and weight loss.
Type 1 diabetes, commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes, develops when the body’s immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that creates insulin.
Type 1 diabetes can then be fatal unless treated with insulin, either injected or inhaled.
“It means the person will need external insulin injections for the rest of their lives or until a cure is found,” Beneteau said. “Jonathan, as with most recently diagnosed people, is on injections and receives an injection at each meal and then gets a fourth injection that stays in his blood stream for about 18 to 24 hours.”
Since Jonathan’s diagnosis, Beneteau has become involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which has a mission to “find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.”
Windsor’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s biggest annual event is the Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes that will take place on June 13.
To raise funds for that event, Beneteau is hosting Jonathan’s Journey, a JDRF fundraiser car wash today at Performance Ford Lincoln, 1150 Provincial Rd., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, visit its website at http://www.jdrf.ca.
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The Windsor Star
