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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, June 4, 2015 | 6 Emma's dream is to turn type 1 diabetes into `type none' by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" S itting on a couch in the living room of her Oakville home, 10-year-old Emma Cloutier goes through the pre-meal routine she now has down to a tee. Before she gets ready to chow down, Emma has to check the glucose (sugar) levels on the label of her food. She then pricks her nger and places a small drop of blood on a stick that's placed into a machine that measures her blood sugar levels. That information is then sent wirelessly to an insulin pump attached to her body. If her levels are high -- above eight millimoles per litre (mmol/L) -- the machine is programmed to send insulin into Emma's body to match the sugar levels she is about to ingest and give her energy to go about her day. If the level is low (under four mmol/L), the machine tells her she needs to eat something quick. Emma performs 12 nger pokes a day, including before meals, to remain aware of her blood sugar levels. But the routine wasn't always so well orchestrated for Emma and her family -- mom Chris Marineau, dad Peter Cloutier and younger brother Zachary. The Grade 4 École Forest Trail Public School student was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) when she was 22 months old and in that second, her life, and that of her family's, changed. Her mom left her job as a partner with an accounting rm, her dad went back to work as a vice-president of a relocation company, and the family moved from Toronto to Oakville. "We decided if we were going to have stress in our life, it wasn't going to be from work," said Chris. "But we had that exibility, which was great because not a lot of families get that chance." After Emma began school, Chris would visit during her daughter's nutritional and lunch breaks every I was inspired to see there was this one organization that can answer all my questions, but even further to that, immediately after sending that initial email to them, the next morning I got a response from someone at JDRF asking if I would like to be connected to a mentor, another parent with a child around the same age as (mine) with T1D. Emma Cloutier's mom Chris Marineau Emma Cloutier, 10, has type 1 diabetes (T1D) so she is a youth ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and her family supports her with her goal of raising funds to nd a cure for diabetes. For a video about Emma and her family's efforts, visit www. insidehalton.com. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) day and perform nger pokes and give Emma insulin injections -- before the youngster was able to do it all on her own. Chris says it was "a bit of a uke" how Emma came to be diagnosed with T1D at such a young age. "She was drinking lots and eating lots, and going to the bathroom lots, and we couldn't really gure out why. So, we took her to a pediatrician," she said. After initial tests, Emma was sent to Toronto's Sick Kids hospital where she received her life-changing diagnosis. "The doctor said, `I can't believe this blood work belongs to this child,' because her blood sugar should be between four and eight and it was 49," said Chris. "And a lot of kids are not necessarily in a coma (at that level), but they'll be passed out or not be alert. She was sitting in the emergency room blowing bubbles and colouring with crayons and having a lovely time." Chris says it was nothing short of shock to her and Peter when they were told Emma had T1D. The pair immediately went online when they returned home from the hospital to learn as much as possible about the auto-immune disease that attacks the cells in the pancreas to stop it from creating the sugar-regulating insulin. Chris says among the rst things that came up in her search was the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and after going through its "newly diagnosed" section, the organization sent her information on T1D, a book on how to manage it and Ruby the Bear for Emma, which shows where nger pokes and needle injections can be performed on the body. "I was inspired to see there was this one organization that can answer all my questions, but even further to that, immediately after sending that initial email to them, the next morning I got a response from someone at JDRF asking if I would like to be connected to a mentor, another parent with a child around the same age as (mine) with T1D," she said. "It's an amazing organization and group of people that has become part of our extended family." Chris, Emma and the rest of their family have been a part of JDRF since 2006, with Emma being a youth ambassador for the organization for the last four years and Chris chairing this year's Starlight Soirée fundraising gala in Oakville. The JDRF charity gala began in the home of an Oakville family three years ago and has now grown to more than 200 participants attending this year's venue at the Oakville Conference Centre. The event has been previously held at Appleby College. "Watching the gala grow is a bit like watching a child grow; you're so proud of being a part of something you helped create," said Chris, who was among the event's founding families. Set for Nov. 5, this year's gala features a Venetian Masquerade theme and includes food stations from local restaurants, speakers like Emma, and silent and live auctions. Returning once again to the event is Fund-A-Cure, a chance to make a signi cant, tax-receipted donation and receive a stuffed animal as a "thank-you." Tickets to the event are available through www.starlightsoiree.com. see Finding on p.7 NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 53 | Number 44 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department (905) 845-3824 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor