Curtis Sherstobitoff is a man on a mission, driven by an awe-inspiring determination to find a cure for his daughter’s recently diagnosed diabetes.
Curtis, wife Sue and their two daughters live an hour north of the American border in British Columbia, Canada, and were caught off-guard in March this year when doctors diagnosed 13-year-old Jordan with Type 1 Diabetes.
The majority of people affected by this form of diabetes live healthy lives and are within a healthy weight range when the disease strikes. That couldn’t be truer for Jordan, who has been brought up in a very active family, eats well and is an avid gymnast.
"The diagnosis just came out of blue. It just goes to show no matter how healthy you are, things can still happen,” Curtis says.
Curtis, 45, had always wanted to participate in a triathlon and after learning of Jordan’s condition, which demands she give herself five insulin injections per day, decided the sport would be a perfect platform to help raise money to find a cure.
With a great deal of research underway in Canada, the family learned that a potential cure may not be far off. So Curtis set out training for his first event with the goal of raising $5000 (NZ$6400) for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada.
Friends, family and the community rallied behind his inspirational cause and following the race he finished up just a few hundred dollars shy of his target.
"Now that I’ve done my first triathlon I’ve got the bug and I want to keep going,” he says.
"Guys that I work with were saying ‘you’re crazy – you’re over 40, what are you doing?’ but hey, if 60 and 70 year old people can do it so can I.”
Wife Sue is also right behind the cause.
"Our main goal is just to get the word out to as many people as we can about type 1 diabetes,” Sue says.
"Just from learning about the disease it’s so important to be healthy and eat well so that down the road she [Jordan] doesn’t need a limb amputated or have eyesight problems. All those things are a reality without awareness and the correct information.”
Curtis is coming off an impressive effort in his first ever triathlon in August, in which he completed a 1km swim, 44km bike and 10km run in a time of 3 hours and 5 minutes. He even earned the top rookie prize as fastest overall first time competitor.
Following the successful debut, he is now set to bring his message to New Zealand.
Currently building up for his second triathlon, Curtis will shortly make the long journey to New Zealand with his family to compete in the Kinloch leg of the Contact Tri Series on February 6th, 2011.
The family had already decided to have a holiday during the Kiwi summer to visit a friend of Sue’s who she met some 26 years ago on an exchange. By chance, the idea was thrown out that Curtis should give the scenic Taupo course a crack as it coincided perfectly with their holiday.
He will be tackling the Olympic distance at Kinloch with hopes of spreading his message and continuing to fight for a cure on our shores.
"I can’t wait, I’m really training hard now to prepare. It’s gonna be wild.”
And despite having just his second event still in front of him, Curtis is already planning to take on a half ironman in June before training for a full ironman in 2012.
Curtis is the definition of inspiration – a humble father doing everything he can to help make life easier for his daughter.
So when the alarm goes off for that early morning swim, bike ride or run, there’s no hitting the snooze button for Curtis, because all he has to do is think of Jordan to find his motivation.
"That’s what drives me. Either aim high or go home," he says.
