After spending a week competing in the local Canadian Diabetes Association’s “Celebrity Challenge,” 10 local men and women got a good dose of what it’s like to live as a diabetic.
And all the participants will get a chance to talk about their experiences—as well as find out who this year’s winner is—at a wind-up banquet tonight at La Place Rendez-Vous.
During the challenge, which for most took place Sept. 13-19, participants kept track of what they ate and drank, recorded their blood sugar, and gave regular insulin “shots” to the teddy bears they carried around with them for the week.
They also were asked to be physically active at least 30 minutes a day, if possible.
For Dick Bird of the Fort Frances Lions Club and his bear, “Junior,” the challenge meant noticeable results. “It worked out well. I gave him the needle and I lost six pounds,” he said Monday morning.
“I feel great now. I’m thankful I was asked to this [challenge],” he added, noting he plans to permanently stick to the meal plan devised for him by Jodis McCaine, a registered dietitian with the Valley Diabetes Education Centre.
“I don’t care how I do in the scoring, I’ve already won,” Bird remarked.
Bird said the key to his weight-loss success was a matter of, what seemed to him at the time, subtle differences.
“I always ate my meals on time. I still had great meals. But rather than have a fried egg for breakfast, I poach it now,” he noted, adding he sometimes has a few drinks in the evening, but is cutting that out, too.
Bird said he diligently carried “Junior” with him everywhere, and gladly told anyone who asked why he was doing it and what the bear represented.
“I even took him up the lake with me. He had to ride in the live-well, but he says it was like a den to him,” he remarked.
As for calling his little diabetes buddy “Junior,” Bird said he took a shine to the furry fellow right off the bat.
“He’s a scruffy little guy. He stood out from the rest of the pretty little things when they showed us our bears [at an information session the previous week].
“I said to myself, that’s the one for me,” he smiled.
This year’s other celebrities included Kiwanis Club president Mark Jones (also of Holmlund Financial), Dawn Booth, co-ordinator of the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, Capt. Angel Sandoval of the Fort Frances Salvation Army, and Fort Frances Museum curator Pam Hawley.
Rounding out the participants were Dana-Rae Bergner (RBC Financial Group), Bridget Dobransky (Lions Club/The Body Shop), Linda Blanc (La Place Rendez-Vous), town tax collector Ed Katona, and yours truly.
“I probably ate more on Saturday than I did during the whole week,” chuckled Jones.
“The tough part was the regimentation with the eating—eating at the right time and from the right food group,” he noted. “I ate more peanut butter on rye bread, digestive cookies, and cottage cheese than I have in years.”
Jones said he also wasn’t used to having a snack at 10 p.m., let alone something with sugar in it, as the plan drawn up by McCaine called for.
“And I’m glad I’m not having to prick my finger twice a day any more. After a week, you say to yourself, ‘Sheesh, I can’t keep on doing this,’” he exclaimed.
“I think a week was a enough time to let me find out what it’s like to be a diabetic.”
Hawley said she also gained a better understanding of what diabetics go through daily.
“I really had to adjust my eating habits,” she remarked. “I never used to have breakfast, and lunch could be hit-and-miss. I had to drink milk before going to bed, and that’s unusual.
“It was also tough because I have a family and we often eat on the go, grabbing something as we go out the door,” Hawley added.
But she said she maintained her schedule even while attending social events, and found there was one advantage to it. “I always got to eat first,” she laughed.
But Hawley admitted it was all worthwhile. “You really learn how it affects your lifestyle, with the scheduling and everything. And you learn to really watch what you’re eating,” she said.
She also said the experience was even more poignant as friends of her family recently had one of their children diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.
The winner of the challenge, determined by McCaine and Cindy Gauthier, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, will be announced tonight.
The last “Celebrity Challenge” winner (held in the fall of 2001) was Bill Gushulak of Fort Frances General Supply.
Tickets for tonight’s dinner, which starts at 6:30 p.m., cost $19 each (which includes taxes and gratuity). While participants attend for free, friends and family can get their tickets by contacting George Bartlett (274-7305).
About 60 people are expected to attend.
The guest speaker will be Dr. B.T. Johnstone.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
