Up North

This afternoon I head to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, on route to Fort Simpson tomorrow, which will be the launch point for my first trip of the season...five days of hiking and paddling from the cabin on this lake.

Next it will be off to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to meet our guests and prep for a two-week canoe trip on the Wind River.


Check out the Wind River at: http://nahanni.com/trips/windriver/?view=gallery

From the sounds of it the weather is good and the bugs are bad this year!
Regardless of weather, it is always an incredible experience visiting the land of the midnight sun.

More Power for PUMPING!

This weekend, I attended the Diabetes Exercise and SportsAssociation (DESA) conference in Toronto.
It took place at the MaRS center. A fitting venue, as the historic University of Toronto building was the site of the first-ever insulin injection administered to 14 year-old Leonard Thompson in 1922 by researchers Banting, Best and colleagues. Banting and Best are pictured here with a diabetic dog receiving insulin shots.

Prior to 1922, a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes meant imminent death for a person, or dog- it was only a matter of time. There were treatments of course, a whole host of herbal hoaxes and tinctures claiming to cure the disease and eliminate symptoms, but these were all money making ploys. The sole method of combating diabetes prior to the discovery of insulin was the 'starvation diet'. The diet was by no means a cure, however it was the most effective way to 'buy time' for the children suffering from a malfunctioning pancreas. Children would be allowed to eat only what their bodies could handle in the absence of insulin - 300-400 calories of thrice-boiled vegetables and other culinary horrors per day. On top of suffering from the symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes, the children faced extreme hunger and malnutrition, dramatic weightloss and unbearable lethargy as their parents and doctors literally starved them to death waiting for a cure.

Today, eighty-five years later, we are still waiting for a cure, but diabetes is no longer a death sentence. Technology has come along way since the days of grinding up hundreds of pork and beef pancreases and injecting the extract with glass syringes and reusable needle tips which needed to be boiled and sharpened with steel wool before each use. We've come a long way...even from the first insulin pump in the 1970's!





Technology is getting better, smaller and more refined as each day goes by, however technology is only as good as the people who are using it. In Canada, access to the latest in diabetes management technology, namely insulin pumps and constant glucose management systems, has been limited, due to high cost and lack of government funding and support.

Which is why yesterday's announcement from our new Minister of Health, David Caplan comes as a HUGE relief, and a timely one for me as it will go down in the books as another historic marker in the continuing history of diabetes.

"Come September, more than 1,300 adult Ontario residents with Type-1 diabetes will be eligible to receive free insulin pumps under the initiative, Caplan told a news conference in Toronto.Ontario is spending $741 million over the next four years on the fight against diabetes in an effort to head off the growing spate of health problems related to the disease."

Now comes the challenging part...how will they choose which 1300 people will receive the pumps? Will they cover the cost of supplies and consumables? Will there be enough diabetes nurse educators to get people set up on these free pumps?

Regardless, this is a massive step in the right direction and a huge success for people living with Type 1 diabetes in this province.

Ontario will soon be powered by pumping! Waaaaaaaa Hooooooooooo!

Welcome!
My blog is currently under construction.
Connected in Motion is hoping to have a real website sometime soon!

Until then, you can find more info on the specifics of Connected in Motion at this link....

www.poweredbypumping.blogspot.com

it's in the stars

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)
Take a trip, invest in your future or hang out with someone who inspires and motivates you. It's all about what you can do to get your dreams off the ground. Surround yourself with new friends who have similar interests.





I don't make a habit of basing major life decisions on the alignment of the planets and zodiacs as they cross galactic paths with the sun and moon. However, from time to time, events in my life coincide with what the zodiacs have to say or...more realistically, what the lady who writes the horoscope section in the newspaper has to say.
Either way, words are words. I'm not going to lie, I like the serendipity of it all.

My horoscope from yesterday was bang on. Not that it was news to me, but that it defined what I have been doing for the past few weeks. What exactly have I been doing?
Well, sitting at a computer day after day, hour after hour, compiling photos, making videos, writing mission statements, visions, goals and business plans. I've been researching non-profit status, sole proprietorships and how to build websites, among other things. I've been doing the behind the scenes work that needs to be done to, hopefully, get my dreams off the ground.

This weekend, I will be attending the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association (DESA) conference in Toronto. A mêlée of people with diabetes or working in the field of diabetes and sport will be there. Athletes, doctors, nurses, researchers, organizations, foundations, drug companies, pump companies, people with diabetes and people who work with people with diabetes.
Talk about surrounding myself with people with like interests! And as for hanging out with people who inspire and motivate me, I think I'll have that covered too!

I am looking forward to bringing Connected in Motion along for the ride, to introduce it in its infancy and get peoples' feedback. Funny enough, the whole premis behind CIM is to connect people with like interests so that they can inspire and motivate one another.

Geesh, those horoscope writers are good!

As for 'take a trip'...I leave for the Northwest Territories and Yukon next week to guide a few canoe trips in the north...another investment in my future.

Maybe it's serendipity, maybe the planets really have aligned, regardless, it has got me reflecting on where I am, what I have been doing and where I want to go. Confirmation that putting time and energy into my dreams and keeping focused on my goals is what I need to do right now...it's in the stars.