March 11, 2024 Committed to supporting research innovation

Callum McMahon was just 13 years old in 2014 when he suddenly lost about 20 pounds over the course of two months. His parents, Lisa and Jamie, initially thought he seemed slimmer because of an adolescent growth spurt. But when Callum couldn’t stop drinking glass after glass of water and soda and repeatedly going to the bathroom at a family Super Bowl party, Jamie recognized the symptoms his brother Joe had displayed when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1987 at the age of 20.

A trip to the family doctor and a blood test confirmed Jamie’s suspicion: Callum had type 1 diabetes, just like Joe.

Thirty-five years’ progress

While uncle and nephew shared the same diagnosis, their diabetes management—and outcomes—have been dramatically different. Says Callum,
 

When my dad told the doctors his brother had died of diabetes complications when he was only 38 years old [in 2005], they reassured me about a hundred million times that things had changed.

Jamie agrees: “When I compare what happened to my son versus what happened to my brother, they're not even the same story. Back then, there was no support network in place, no family sharing opportunity.” For Callum, on the other hand, diabetes education was a family affair, and he attended diabetes management classes at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (in Ottawa) with both parents, his brother and two sisters by his side.

At the hospital, his diabetes care team told Callum that as long as he followed his management plan and kept his blood sugar (glucose) in range, he could live a long, healthy life.

Unlike his uncle Joe, who had to test his blood with painful finger pricks and inject insulin with a needle, Callum uses a wearable continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which sends real-time blood sugar readings to his cellphone. He also started using an insulin pump seven years ago.

“Even in the past 10 years, my world has changed a lot thanks to the advances that can really make day-to-day life easier,” says Callum.

Support for research

“Diabetes Canada research has meant the difference between the kind of treatment Jamie’s brother had and what is available for Callum, and we are grateful for it,” says Lisa.

Callum, now 22, is completing a master’s degree in international business at Queen’s University. Although he realizes future complications related to his diabetes are possible, he believes research will create new prevention and treatment options.

His parents, too, are hopeful. “We can see the tangible results that research has provided, and it's just getting better and better,” says Lisa. “In five years, there will be even more advancements.”

Research that brings about these advancements is guided in part by feedback from people like the McMahons.
“People with diabetes and with lived experience bring valuable expertise and perspective to evaluating the relevance and value of diabetes research,” says Rachel Reeve, PhD, executive director, research and science, Diabetes Canada. “This helps to inform Diabetes Canada’s research funding decisions.”

Did you know?

Diabetes Canada supports more than 260 researchers working at 20 different research institutions across the country. Our End Diabetes Awards is an annual competition whose goal is to dramatically improve the lives of people living with or at risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes through innovative research. Donate now and help Diabetes Canada continue to fund life-changing research.