By Sasha Delorme

This is part two in our series of blog posts written by Patient Partners about their experience at the Diabetes Action Canada Workshop.

About Sasha: Sasha Delorme is a happily married Métis woman with two sons and two stepchildren. She grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan with her mother, who was adopted through the 60s Scoop, so she is learning about Indigenous culture as she works on projects and speaks about life with diabetes. Her son has type 1 diabetes (diagnosed at age 2 in 2014), and she has type 2, diagnosed in 2020.

Sasha has spoken at several events, helped plan many diabetes related events in her city for Diabetes Canada and JDRF, done grant reviews, contributed to the work of published scientific projects, and recently helped plan and host an anti-racism in healthcare workshop. She works closely with the Indigenous Patient Circle in Diabetes Action Canada as well as the Collective Patient Circle, always eager to help shape diabetes research. She has been on the DAC steering committee, Sex and Gender research committee, and knowledge and mobilization committee. She is currently a steering committee member for CommuniT1D, a mental health initiative for people living with T1D.

Sasha is starting a new position as Research Coordinator for the CanScreenT1D project and will be visiting Indigenous communities while she works with her fellow IPC members.

This year, 2024, I was reminded that I’m no longer at the conference sharing just my experiences as a mom/caregiver to my son with type 1 diabetes. I’m also there as a woman with type 2 diabetes. I hit my first scary low in a long time and, of course, it ended up happening right before my group’s presentation. I walked through the big doors to the area near the elevators and realized in that moment that I was really low. The second I realized… Linxi popped up and saved the day. She asked me how I was, and I said “low.” She panicked and found me some candy and fruit snacks, then waited a good 15 minutes to make sure I was okay. Not all heroes wear capes. Thanks again, Linxi!

I ended up nailing the speech (or so I thought in my haze, lol), and I know it’s because of the confidence I’ve built over the years, working for this organization and attending these conferences.

That being said, I have been to at least five conferences and this one was by far my favorite. All the details really made it epic. The menu was sent via email with carb counts so people could give insulin knowing the amount, there were no accolades on the name tags which made it easier to approach someone and ask how they’re involved with DAC. The “speed networking” session where we had the chance to meet people we otherwise may not have, and the family photos of DAC administration added a human element I found was lacking in other conferences. Showcasing the work that has been done and the results that have come from projects advised by patient partners was great to see. We need to share more of that news between our peers.

The hotel was beautiful and clean, and the food was really good. I enjoyed the breakout sessions and the length of the presentations were perfect, not too long. People were meeting each other for the first time since Zoom meetings became a thing, and everyone seemed happy to be there.

I left the conference feeling confident and ready to tackle more work with amazing people. I felt valued and safe, and it’s important for me to be in those kinds of environments. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this year’s meeting. A+++!!!