Be in peace Mike

At the young age of 44, my dear brother, Michel (Mike) Louis LeBlanc has passed away.

Mike was 14 years older than me and rumour has it he cried the day I was born. The poor guy already had two little sisters – all he wanted a little brother. :-) I guess that’s why he always called me Danny. I’ve always said; my big brother is the only person who can call me Danny without getting punched in the face. I think his sadness with my lack of a penis quickly dissipated as I can remember how he would often bring me with him on his outings.

My brother was a man of few words, but I always knew he loved me… I always knew he would do anything for me or anyone else he knew because he had such a big heart. With 14 years between us you can imagine we often felt like we had little in common. He liked cars and knew everything about them… all I knew about my car is that is was black. Yet, somehow he would still make an effort to keep up with my ever-changing life.

The love of his life was without a doubt his beautiful daughter RayLynn. Today is RayLynn’s 10th birthday and I know he was fighting hard not to die on her birthday… but when it’s your time, it’s your time. I remember when he called me in Ottawa to tell me he was going to have a baby. You could tell he was just beaming on the other end of the line. He was so proud. He was a wonderful father. I know that she was often the light that kept him going all these years.

In my constant effort to bring diabetes awareness to the forefront, I can’t write about Mike’s life without mentioning the challenging disease that he lived with every day. Mike was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 41 years ago at the age of 3. Research and technology has come a long way in the last 40 years, but we still have so far to go. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes and I’m saddened when I hear people say it is. In his life, my brother has given himself over 65,000 insulin injections, had kidney failure twice, amputation, vision loss and now heart failure. We can justly say that he died from complications of Type 1 diabetes.

As I reflect on Mike’s life, I remember a man who loved his family dearly. A man who had more strength and fighting power that I ever knew possible. A man who thought the world of his daughter and often tried to better himself for his daughter’s benefit. A man who will forever be the only person to call me Danny.



I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history -- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience -- laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death.
- Robert Fulghum