Flexing for a cause

John Trevisanutto has lived with diabetes for 18 years.

Doctors diagnosed Trevisanutto with Type 2 diabetes in 1992. Before that diagnosis he didn’t have any idea that he had diabetes until he became sick. Discovering he was living with diabetes changed his life.

"It has been a real struggle for me," Trevisanutto said. "It’s a disease that you have to live with on a daily basis. If you don’t it can come back to bite you real quick. It’s a silent disease. When you look at most people with diabetes they don’t look ill or sick. That’s one of the scary parts."

He called diabetes in Northwestern Ontario an epidemic.

Trevisanutto, the regional fundraising chair for the Canadian Diabetes Association, attended a news conference on Wednesday to help launch the sixth annual Motors and Muscles raffle.

The raffle raised nearly $35,000 last year for the diabetes association in Thunder Bay. He said he hoped this year would raise the same amount.

Without the funding provided by the head office in Toronto, the local diabetes association wouldn’t be sustainable by itself.

"So many more people are contracting this disease," he said. "It’s a very debilitating disease and with the Thunder Bay office, we can educate people, we can get them into programs and hopefully, with a lot of effort, try to eradicate the disease."

Suzanne Sterling, regional director of the Canadian Diabetes Association, agreed with Trevisanutto that diabetes in Northern Ontario was an epidemic. About 19,000 people in this region have either prediabetes or diabetes.

The disease isn’t selective and can affect anyone at any age, she said. Frequent urination and low energy are classic signs of diabetes, she said. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to amputation, heart disease, stroke, kidney damage and blindness.

"Diabetes has a huge impact on Northwestern Ontario," Sterling said. "Our statistics are showing us that we’re one of the highest incident rates in Ontario. A lot of that is due to Type 2 diabetes and the prevalence that’s associated with the First Nation people. They have a higher incident of diabetes."

She added that a family history of diabetes has a higher chance of contracting the disease. To help prevent diabetes, people should become more active and eat healthier, she said.

One of the big draws this year is a 2011 Harley Davidson Road King and a chance to win $31,214. There are 600 tickets, which cost $100 each, for the raffle. They can be purchased at Canadian Diabetes Association, Thunder Bay Metro Lions Club, Half-Way Motors Nissan, Thunder Bay Harley-Davison and the Canadian Tire Thunder Centre location.

The raffle is scheduled for August 2011.