When nine-year-old Quinn Findlay was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in January of this year, it was an extremely stressful time for her entire family.

“She was in the hospital for a whole week. She was sick, she was losing weight,” her mom, Grace Findlay, told The Lake Report. 

Findlay said that after her daughter was diagnosed they began to get organized and manage as best they could.

That’s when they heard about Greta Sobol and the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes, which was held this past Sunday.

“When someone in your family gets diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes it’s very nerve-wracking. So if there’s something that we can do to help find a cure for it, so that nobody has to go through it and so that she can feel better, we will do it,” Findlay said.

She and her family printed out matching T-shirts for the walk and trekked all the way from Welland to come out and raise money in hopes of a cure and networking with other kids who experience the world similarly to Quinn.

“That’s our goal,” said Findlay.

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Greta Sobol was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in April of last year and since then has become an advocate for the autoimmune disorder. 

The 11-year-old led Sunday’s Walk to Cure Diabetes at Virgil Sports Park along with hundreds of community members, some with diabetes and many who have been touched by it within their inner circles. 

Greta and her dad, Jonathan Sobol, shared their gratitude for everyone who came out to support the walk.

“I think we probably had even more people than last year,” Greta said.

The walk boasted more than 20 teams of walkers.

“It exceeded expectations and our fundraising goals were more than met,” her dad added.

Sobol thanked everyone for coming out and said that while a final number is being calculated, as of Sunday morning they had surpassed the $13,000 goal.

“Fingers crossed we might even get to $14,000, maybe even $15,000. It was a great turnout with wonderful support locally and corporately,” he said.

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Eleven-year-old Ellie Tolento said she didn’t know much about Type 1 diabetes before Greta started talking about her diagnosis at school last year.

“My friend Greta Sobol is diabetic and so is my cousin,” Tolento said.

She said coming out to support the walk “felt like the right thing to do.”

Tolento and numerous other friends of Greta’s explained how much they’ve learned about diabetes and the equipment needed to manage it.

“I’ve learned about Dexcoms and pumps and things like that,”  Tolento said. 

Kiosks with information on Dexcom and other diabetes gear were set up for people to peruse before and during the walk. 

Chris Jarvis, an Olympic rower who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 13, even hosted a race to see how fast kids could check their blood sugar before the walk, showcasing what goes on behind the scenes for those with diabetes.