Tour de Cure!

The Red Riders ride again!


Tegan and her Daddy - with our great team - is back again for 2013!


The past 29 years of diabetes haven't slowed me down much - but it has made the journey of just living much more difficult.  As a Type I, insulin dependent diabetic, I am never more than an hour away from thinking about what I just ate, what should I eat next, when that should be, and how much insulin I need to inject.  Since my body gave up on creating and regulating insulin in my blood - I know have to take on that task myself.  My body can usually give me some warning signs when my blood sugar is either going too high or too low, but often surprises do occur.  That is just no fun at all, and that spectre of constant failure is always with me.

Tegan's diabetic journey has been going on for almost six years now.  She has taken on the challege that diabetes brings to life's party.  Five years ago, it was Mick & I who did most of the reminders, insulin shots, and the counting of carbs.  Tegan has taken control and now does the majority of her care herself.  Just think about how amazing that is.  At twelve years old - did you let your kids give themselves aspirin or cough medicine at that age?  Diabetes is orders of magnitude greater than that on the scale of seriousness - and Tegan has become an expert at it.  To me, that is both awe inspiring and tremendously sad at the same time.

Tegan's life has changed from what should be carefree years of fun, growing, and learning - into a routine of carbohydrate counting, multiple daily blood sugar tests, insulin injections, and constant guessing of how best to keep her body as close to normal as possible.  But - she doesn't stop.  Dance, basketball, soccer, reading, writing, drawing, knitting, homework, email, climbing trees, sleepovers...she cannot be stopped.

The research to cure diabetes has been going on for 100 years. A cure has always seemed to be just around the corner. The disease can be managed with constant attention, but it is not fun or easy. It may appear that  diabetics have diabetes under control.  And, we do - the same way an air traffic controller has planes in the sky under control.  Look away from the radar screen for a second, let the planes go off without direction, step out of the control room for a break - and you will find a disaster when you return to the job.

I pray that the cure for diabetes will happen soon, and more research is needed to make that a reality.  Like everything in this world, the cost of research is going up.

Please join us in our fundraising efforts. Your words of encouragement or monetary donations will both be appreciated!

Or - come ride with us and join Team Tegan and Her Daddy! Team Tegan has rasied over $35,000 over the past five Tours.  Come help add to this total!  We've had such great times on our past Tours we hope you can get out and ride with us.  I will even create an easy website URL for you: YOURNAME.teamtegan.com - how simple is that?

If biking isn't your thing - pass along our story to your friends.  You can reach out to people that we don't know and add to the fundraising total.  Send out the teamtegan.com URL to as many people as you can.  There are many people out there looking for a charity.  Many you even know Bill Gates...  He might have a few dollars looking for something to support.

It is still too early to know if my employer, AMEC, will match donations in my name.  The past five years they have - so hopefully they will again.  I will update this page when I know for sure.

Ready?  Go!

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