Finding a way to help conquer diabetes is an important feat for Kenosee Lake resident Danya Tarr.
Her 15-year-old sister Jacey was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, and though she's learned to manage it quite well, Dayna wanted to find a way to raise money and awareness for the disease and get her younger sister involved too.
She could have done something small scale - like maybe a walk or a marathon - but instead she decided to "Conquer the Volcano."
In May, providing the two sisters can raise the $12,200 needed to embark on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, they will be hiking up a live volcano in Costa Rica.
"I wanted to do something because my sister is Type 1 diabetic," Tarr explained. "I knew they had marathons and stuff all the time in Regina, but I wanted to get her involved too in something. So I found this one in Costa Rica."
She talked with her sister about how this would be a great opportunity for them to spend some sisterly time together, while raising money for diabetes. It took a bit of convincing, but Jacey came on board.
The hike is anticipated to take the sisters anywhere from eight to 12 hours.
"It will be at elevations Jacey and I will never have experienced before," Tarr explained. "We have to go through a training program and everything for it. You do it at your local gym. Online, they'll give us what we have to do this day, and what we have to do that day to get yourself prepared so you are not just throwing yourself into it."
The volcano is situation in Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica. As they hike through one of the most diverse ecological parks in the entire world, Dayna and Jacey will experience unique wildlife, flora and fauna. They'll see waterfalls, volcanic craters, fumaroles, mud pots and hot springs.
Simply put, it will be an experience of a lifetime.
"I think it's an awesome goal to hit - to say you raised over $12,000 for diabetes in three or four months," said Tarr, of why she's excited to embark on this journey.
In the five years since Jacey was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she's learned to mange it and now it's hardly noticeable to the people around her.
"She takes her needles five times a day," Tarr explained. "It's crazy. She found out when she was 10-years-old, so you're going from being this regular 10-year-old to having to take needles five times a day, and having to prick your finger [many] times in a day. She'll wake up in the middle of the night and have a low, and no one else will know, and she'll have to do something about it."
"It's really quick [with the needles]," continued Tarr. "You don't even notice her do it anymore - a few seconds and it's done. People will ask, 'Aren't you diabetic?' and she'll say, 'Yeah. I took my insulin and I tested my blood. I'm good to go.' They'll ask, 'Really?' and she'll tell them, "Yeah, you were sitting right there, just not paying attention.'"
Tarr said her parents are completely supportive of her and her sister, and they have received strong support from other people they are close with in their lives as well.
"We're definitely not on our own," said Tarr. "Everyone wants to help out with this one."
The girls' trip expenses are included in the total amount they need to fundraise, with at least 70 per cent of the total amount raised going directly to the Canadian Diabetes Association for research and support.
"I think it's a real important cause," said Tarr. "And, one in nine people are diabetic or pre-diabetic. One of the stats is, if we don't get diabetes under control, it's going to crash the Canadian health system."
Throughout the Dickens Village Festival held in Carlyle the first weekend of December, the sisters sold Christmas baking platters to help raise money. And, though Tarr said she knows the statistics for diabetes, she was still surprised to see just how many people suffer as a diabetic.
"I had guys coming up and asking if it was sugar-free, [but] they're not sugar-free," Tarr explained. Jacey is Type 1, so she just takes insulin. So, she can eat sugary things if she just compensates for it. But so many Type 2s came up and asked if it was sugar-free or [for] diabetics. It was crazy the amount of people. Even people I know, they would order platters and tell me they were Type 2 or pre-diabetic, and I didn't know they were."
Between Dickens and the pre-orders they delivered mid-December, the girls managed to sell 75 platters.
In order to raise additional funds, the Tarr sisters are planning to hold a few pancake breakfasts in the area, possibly in Kennedy, Kenosee Lake, Wawota, and Carlyle.
"We're going to have a raffle as well," said Tarr. "We had a gentleman donate a 10-foot feeder for horses and cow, and the Moosehead and BarBar donated gift certificates. We're going to sell tickets for that starting in January.
The sisters only have until March to raise the $12,200 needed to participate in the trek - they need $6,100 each. To date, they've raised just over $3,000.
There are a couple different ways to donate. One way is by pledging the sisters - Jacey and Dayna Tarr - on the Canadian Diabetes Association website. People mail cheques made out to the Canadian Diabetes Association to Dayna Tarr: Box 1204, Carlyle, SK, S0C 0R0 or people can also email Dayna: dayna_tarr@hotmail.com for information on where to drop off a cheque or for other options.
