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 aniel Hurtubise had a huge capacity to dream. He believed that virtually anything is possible. Cycling from Vancouver, BC to St. John's, NL in June 2008 with his son and daughter at his side, on the Ride of a Lifetime tour he organised to raise awareness of juvenile diabetes, Daniel, who was himself a diabetic said, “This is good training. Maybe for our next project we should climb Mount Everest.”
A gifted athlete and outgoing optimist, Daniel was always on the lookout for the next big adventure. “Nothing could stop him; he liked to push things to the limit,” says his wife Michelle Olivier, a Montreal-based media sales manager. “The moment he had an idea, he’d say, ‘Let’s do it now. There’s no time to waste’.” He was passionate and fiercely focused about anything he took on – be it sailing, snowboarding, canoeing, kayaking or cycling – and anything he took on included the children. “They had to be involved; that was part of the deal,” adds Michelle. “He taught them to follow their passion, dream big, and never give up. He gave them the courage to take on the world.
Turning point
Daniel was already an ace swimmer, competing at the national level, and had set his sights on the Olympics, when he was diagnosed at 15 with type 1 diabetes. When the training schedule became too demanding, he gave up swimming and took up canoeing. Although he didn’t compete, at 18, he was picked to carry the Olympic flame as part of a relay team of torchbearers for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, paddling a birch bark canoe up the St. Lawrence River.
Daniel’s life was full of such stories.
Living with type 1 diabetes requires vigilance and imposes regimens challenging for people with Daniel’s formidable drive. “Although you do things by the book, eat well, exercise and take your insulin properly,” explains Michelle, “you never really know how you’re going to feel. You just have to take it day by day.” Dr. David Kozloff, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Chair, Quebec Chapter, calls Daniel an elite athlete and continues: “The challenge of having diabetes and doing strenuous exercise is to monitor your blood sugar. In all sports, there are world-class athletes who have type 1 diabetes who’ve learned through trial and error how to manage their disease so they can perform at elite levels. Daniel had learned how to do that.”
“It takes an exceptional individual
– who also happens to be diabetic –
to do what Dan did.”
Dr. David Kozloff, JDRF Chair, Quebec Chapter |
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Cause and effect
More than 2.4 million Canadians have some form of diabetes; 240,000 Canadians have type 1. According to JDRF, this is the sixth highest incidence rate of this disease in children age 14 or younger in the world. Also known as juvenile diabetes because it’s usually diagnosed in children and adolescents, and believed to be the result of genetic and environmental factors, this autoimmune disease destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. This can be life-threatening, and includes complications such as blindness, kidney disease, heart attack and stroke, but with daily injections or infusions of insulin to regulate blood sugar levels, and attention to diet and exercise, people with type 1 diabetes can lead normal lives.
The remaining 90% of Canadians with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes because it typically affects adults over age 40, although there’s increasing evidence of it developing in children. Factors such as the aging population, rising obesity rates, and sedentary lifestyles are driving the numbers up. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot properly use the insulin it makes, increasing the risk of complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputation. Treatment may include diet control and exercise, monitoring of blood sugar levels, and medication or insulin. Unlike type 1, type 2 diabetes may be prevented or delayed by developing healthier lifestyle habits.
The journey
One day, Daniel suggested he’d like to do something special for his upcoming 50th birthday: why not cycle across Canada raising awareness of juvenile diabetes? “The Ride of a Lifetime became the Olympics Dan never had, his ultimate accomplishment. And to do it with his kids was a bonus,” says Michelle. The idea came to him after they had sold their sailboat and taken up cycling. “We had to have the fastest boat on the lake, or nothing,” explains Michelle. “Within three weeks, we had 8 or 9 bikes in our garage.” The three-year plan included his children: Sonia switched to the sports studies program at school; Daniel and Alexandre began their own training program; and in 2007, Daniel took on the project full-time, signing up Accu-Chek® as the Ride of a Lifetime’s primary sponsor. He set out to demonstrate the possibilities of life in the face of chronic illness, generate awareness of juvenile diabetes and raise $500,000 in support of JDRF research.
On June 14, 2008, in Vancouver’s Stanley
Park, joined by their friend Robert Carrier and travelling with a film crew to document their experience, Daniel, Alexandre and Sonia left on their cross-Canada journey. The trip ended tragically two weeks later when the cyclists were struck by a car east of Virden, Manitoba. Daniel and Robert were killed. Sonia and Alexandre suffered minor injuries.
The family is resolute that they’ll carry on Daniel’s legacy by continuing his efforts to help fund research to find a cure. With the money raised in the first days of the RIDE, at the JDRF gala in November, and at fundraising events since, they’re almost half way to Daniel’s goal of $500,000 in support of JDRF. And they’ll go on.
“I knew Daniel through my involvement with JDRF, and I can tell you he was very charismatic, determined, and absolutely inspirational,” says Kozloff. “His effort has had a lasting impact on the community. As an organisation, we’ve chosen to honour his memory and raise money to support diabetes research in his name. It takes an exceptional individual – who also happens to be diabetic – to do what Dan did.” H&L
To watch the documentary video of Daniel Hurtubise's story, click here.
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