Petawawa diabetic walks 100 km, raises over $18,000 for research
Ruby Pilatzke says she is sore and tired after completing the longest 24 hours of her life.
On Saturday afternoon, the 17-year-old from Petawawa finished a 100-kilometre, non-stop walk from the Antrim Truck Stop in Arnprior to the Civic Centre in Petawawa.
Pilatzke challenged herself with the trek to mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin and to raise money for diabetes research.
"Accomplished, proud of myself, and tired, but very proud," Pilatzke said after being asked how she felt following her 100-kilometre walk. "My legs are so sore and my feet are so blistered but they’ll heal. It was worth it."
Pilatzke lives with Type 1 diabetes and took on the walk in place of the annual JDRF Walk in Ottawa, which was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Coming across her own finish line in Petawawa, Pilatzke could not hold back her tears seeing the reception waiting for her.
"My community is just so amazing," Pilatzke told CTV News Ottawa. "I did not expect hardly anyone to be out here and to see everyone and so many other members who have Type 1 in this community all out here just means so much to know that people support me always."
With the walk, Pilatzke’s goal was to raise $10,000 for diabetes research. At the end of the walk, it was announced over $18,000 had been raised, with donations yet to be counted expected to push the total over $20,000.
"Just to see my daughter reach her goal, she had a goal set of $10,000 but it was so much more than that," says Julie Pilatzke, Ruby’s mother. "It was about raising awareness and it was about recognizing that insulin is having its 100th anniversary from its first development."
"She said she was doing it all in one day, and I was like oh my goodness that’s insane," says Pilatzke’s former high school teacher Krista St. Louis, who walked roughly 60 kilometres of the journey with Pilatzke. "It just shows her dedication for finding a cure for diabetes and wanting to help others who have diabetes."
"It just means so much because it means I’m getting closer to finding a cure, and having a cure in my lifetime would be incredible," says Pilatzke, taking in the total amount of money she raised for research. "I want to do everything I can to be a part of that."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.