Max Domi says he had only one question when he learned, at age 12, he had Type 1 diabetes.
“I wanted to know if I could still play hockey,” Domi said Tuesday as he shared his experiences with 13 youngsters dealing with the disease. “My doctor asked me if I had ever heard of Bobby Clarke. I said I hadn’t and he told that Bobby Clarke had diabetes and payed in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup. That was my dream and I felt better when I learned about Bobby Clarke.”
The Canadiens’ centre is the national spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and will be participating in the Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes on June 9. But on Tuesday, he was just another guy coping with diabetes as he fielded questions from youngsters who ranged in age from five to 17.
“I’m fortunate to be playing in the NHL, but my experiences are just like yours,” he said. “I remember when I learned that I had diabetes, I was scared. I hated needles. I didn’t know how it was going to change my life. But I learned that if you were responsible, if you checked your levels and took care of yourself, you can do almost anything. You can’t be in the army and you can’t be a commercial pilot and not everyone is going to end up in the NHL, but you can be a teacher or a lawyer.”
