August 28, 2025 The difference a cure would make

“If diabetes were out of our lives, I would have a solid sleep,” says Sasha Delorme, whose son Brayson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was two years old. He was later diagnosed with asthma, and celiac disease which is more common in people with diabetes. Between testing his blood sugar (glucose) regularly and giving him insulin, Sasha says, “I haven’t slept through the night for more than 10 years now.”

She describes her son’s diagnosis as a shock that “turned our world upside down.” 

Diabetes is always looming over your head as a parent; like you’re one mistake from something bad happening to your child.

It takes more resilience to be a caregiver and manage a child’s diabetes than many people might think. In the early years, for Sasha, it wasn’t just about high blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia, but about lows or hypoglycemia. She and her husband had to give Brayson finger pokes about every two hours because he was too young to tell them how he was feeling. “Diabetes really is very, very consuming,” she says. As a result, they decided she would stay at home.

Learning and getting involved

In the past 10 years, this Métis mother of four, who lives in Regina, has been busy, learning about diabetes—and teaching others about it, too. That includes teachers at Brayson’s school, as well as complete strangers. 

“About two years of being in that fog and learning about diabetes on our own, we got involved in places like Diabetes Canada and JDRF,” she says. She and her family started fundraising for D-Camps. “We did the lemonade stands and things like that, and all I can say about D-Camps is that it is the most amazing experience for not only the child with type 1, but the whole family.” She also helped put together a gala fundraising event.

They’ve gone to Family Camp several times. “Every time you know, it's just that much better because you make those connections and you see the same families and you get to talk with people who actually get it.” 

For Brayson, it has also been a gift. Sasha recalls how the first time they attended, everyone with type 1 was asked to put up their hands. Brayson, who’s shy, “looked around and saw all these hands of all these people who also had diabetes like him. In that moment, he was the majority, not the minority, as he usually is. It was just such a beautiful moment for us to see that and all the support that was around him and us in that room,” she says. 

“You think, oh, your child has diabetes, but it's a family condition. You know, we consider ourselves to all have diabetes sometimes...just in order to treat everybody the same.” 

Another surprise diagnosis

In the summer of 2020, Sasha was drinking more water and going to the bathroom more, and also felt dazed and confused. In the back of her mind, she thought: “Brayson's the one with diabetes. We can’t have two of us [in a family], one’s enough.” She used her son’s glucometer to check her blood sugar and when she saw the reading, she knew what it meant. 

Her doctor originally misdiagnosed her as having type 1. But further tests confirmed she had type 2 for which Indigenous people like Sasha, can be at greater risk of developing the condition. “I felt defeated in that moment because it came up in doctor's appointments previously, but I thought it's not gonna happen to me. But I knew that the changes that I had to make were all going to be positive.”

Once she knew more about type 2, she began making positive changes through medication, activity and food. As before when Brayson was diagnosed, she has also remained committed to teaching others, which is part of the reason why she agreed to share her and Brayson’s story for Diabetes Canada’s fall donor marketing campaign. It’s very important for us to give back because we've just had so many opportunities from Diabetes Canada.” 

Changing the conversation

With Brayson now in junior high school, he is more independent—he got his first insulin pump when he was seven—and no longer has educational assistants to support his diabetes management. “He’s very quiet about his diabetes,” says Sasha, “Because we lived a lot in the light of diabetes, making friendships, relationships, and doing fundraising, he’s now in the burnout phase of sharing his journey with diabetes.” 

However, for Sasha, her diagnosis has provided an opportunity to talk about the condition; in particular, the stigma. “If I ever have to take a needle in front of people, I'll do it because I know how to talk about the stigmas,” she says. “A lot of people don’t know that that's insulin going into me, and I have had some funny stares, especially when we’re in public, and I need to dose. There’s not only the health part of it, but also the stereotypes and the way that people almost blame people for having diabetes. That’s gotta change.”

Currently working as a patient partner with CanScreen T1D, Sasha is an enthusiastic advocate for people like her and Brayson who live with diabetes. She has delivered antiracism training to trainees, physicians, researchers and anybody working with Indigenous communities. “We focus on teaching them about the culture, the background, colonialism, the Sixties Scoop, and all the things that make for all these health disparities that we have today.” She has also done grant reviews, and contributed to the work of published scientific projects.

“People like Sasha, who live with diabetes and as a result, have lived experience, offer an important point of view when it comes to the relevance and value of diabetes research,” says Rachel Reeve, PhD, executive director, research and science, Diabetes Canada. “This perspective plays a valuable role when it comes to research funding decisions now and in future.”

Did you know?

September 30 marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which honours the children who never returned home from residential schools and Survivors of those schools, as well as their families and communities. To learn more, visit National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Diabetes stigma is real and it’s harmful. Misconceptions about diabetes are widespread, leading to negative perceptions of those living with it. Visit Change the Conversation About Diabetes to learn more, including how you can help.