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Meet the world’s first commercial airline captain to fly with type 1 diabetes
Stephen Steele shares his story for Diabetes Awareness Month
THUNDER BAY, ON (November 5, 2012) – Stephen Steele fought against systematic barriers to pursue his dreams. He is an inspiration to anyone, especially those who have experienced the challenges of living with diabetes. November is Diabetes Awareness Month and Steele will be making a special visit to Thunder Bay to share his story.
Who: Stephen Steele, the Canadian Diabetes Association, students and the public.
What: Cleared for Take-off: motivational presentation by Stephen Steele, the first commercial airline captain to fly with type 1 diabetes. Free admission.
When: Media are invited to attend a 10 a.m. student presentation on November 8, 2012. Stephen will be available for interviews following the presentation at approximately 10:45 a.m.
The general public is invited to attend a second presentation at 7 p.m.
Where: Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute, 333 High Street N Thunder Bay, Ontario
In 1986, after working for eight years as a commercial airline pilot for Air Canada, Stephen Steele was suddenly grounded after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
“If you run up against a roadblock in the things you want to do, look for ways around the roadblock and don’t just end it there,” says Steele.
He did just that. Rather than accept defeat, Stephen went back to school to become a lawyer to advocate for changes in international aviation standards. He successfully returned to the cockpit in 2003 as the first person in the world to fly as the captain of a commercial airliner while taking insulin. “I think there is a pay-forward requirement here – if you are able to change things for the better for somebody, you have an obligation to do it for them,” he adds.
“People with diabetes may face discrimination in the workplace simply because they have diabetes,” says Suzanne Sterling, Regional Director for the Canadian Diabetes Association. “Most people with diabetes can perform their job duties with minimal accommodation, such as nutrition breaks, time for glucose level monitoring, appropriate area for glucose monitoring, and/or injection of insulin.”
Approximately three million Canadians are living with diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and adolescents, occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin - a hormone that controls the amount of glucose in the blood. Approximately 10 per cent of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
“In being considered for employment in safety-sensitive positions, a person with diabetes has the right to be assessed for specific job duties on his or her own merits based on reasonable standards applied consistently. adds Sterling.
To mark Diabetes Awareness Month this November, the Canadian Diabetes Association introduced the “What a Cure Means to Me” Campaign. For more information, visit whatacuremeans2me.com.
,strong>About the Canadian Diabetes Association
The Canadian Diabetes Association is a registered charitable organization, leading the fight against diabetes by helping people with diabetes live healthy lives while we work to find a cure. Our professional staff and more than 20,000 volunteers provide education and services to help people in their daily fight against the disease, advocate on behalf of people with diabetes for the opportunity to achieve their highest quality of life, and break ground towards a cure. Please visit www.diabetes.ca , join us on facebook.com/CanadianDiabetesAssociation, follow us on Twitter @DiabetesAssoc, or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Richard Boon
Public Programs and Services Coordinator
Canadian Diabetes Association
P. (807) 577-4232 ext. 223
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