February 5, 2025
Allison Lelek gives her new stuffy a heartfelt hug. She received the bear soon after receiving her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis at the Brooks Health Centre. Mom Robyn Preston (not shown) says she¡¯s grateful for the feeling of inclusion the bear provides her daughter. Photo by Nathan Luit.
Nicki Manning¡¯s bears, with sensors stitched on their arms, much like the ones that patients with Type 1 diabetes wear, bring comfort to children diagnosed at the Brooks Health Centre, where she¡¯s a unit clerk. Photo by Nathan Luit.
Story by Kelly Morris | Photos & video by Nathan Luit
BROOKS ¡ª When Nicki Manning was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in Brooks, it took almost 10 years before she was introduced to another person with the same chronic condition. Receiving a life-changing diagnosis can be scary and lonely, even more so in a small community with less opportunity to meet people with the same diagnosis.
Today, Manning is a unit clerk at the Brooks Health Centre where she¡¯s helping newly-diagnosed patients know they aren¡¯t alone, alongside colleagues in the Â鶹ӳ» Health Living Program and in partnership with the Brooks Health Foundation.
Type 1 diabetes is most often diagnosed in childhood, limiting the options children have to engage with online communities and supports.
¡°I follow a whole bunch of inspirational Type 1 people online and they¡¯re motivating and show that we can do hard things,¡± says Manning. ¡°But kids can¡¯t join social media until they¡¯re a bit older, so I was thinking about what could help introduce them to this new community.¡±
Inspired by bears seen elsewhere, Manning purchased buttons that look like the continuous glucose monitor worn by Type 1 diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels. After mentioning the project to Shawna James, coordinator of the Brooks Health Foundation, Manning found herself with a closet full of bears to choose from.
¡°I grabbed a handful of bears from the foundation, and with my amateur sewing skills, stitched the buttons on the back of their arms,¡± says Manning. ¡°It takes me five minutes to do and the look on the kids¡¯ faces is perfect.¡±
Often, Manning meets newly-diagnosed patients in the emergency department ¡ª like Allison Lelek and her mom, Robyn Preston. Receiving a gift and connection from someone who¡¯s been in those same shoes helps make a scary time a little less intimidating.
¡°The feeling of inclusion in these bears, I can¡¯t even explain it,¡± says Preston. ¡°Just the fact that she¡¯s got something that represents her and the things that she goes through.¡±
Manning met Lelek when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last spring. By sharing some of her own experience, she hopes to give a realistic view of what it¡¯s like to be diabetic.
¡°I feel like it¡¯s important for parents to see me and know that I¡¯m OK,¡± says Manning. ¡°I have a career, I have a family, I have a good relationship with my diabetes ¡ª and it¡¯s doable.¡±
Manning is proud to represent people with Type 1 diabetes in her community, and is glad she¡¯s found a way to connect with newly-diagnosed children in her community.
¡°This is such a simple little gesture to help comfort them, so they can see they¡¯re not alone,¡± says Manning. ¡°This bear is a symbol. We¡¯re always attached to something ¡ª I have an insulin pump on and it¡¯s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This bear also has this attachment.
¡°It¡¯s small, but it¡¯s meaningful.¡±
