A month of so ago, I was invited to a special event sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Eleven-year-old Jake Kaese was the featured speaker.

I'm sure Jake had some script writing help from his mom, Jacqui, but it was extremely well delivered and the message so powerful, I wanted to share it with you.

Here's what Jake had to say:

My name is Jake Kaese. I am 11 years old and I am in grade 6 at North Cedar Intermediate. I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when I was 8.

I check my blood sugar levels about four times a day. That means I have had more than 5000 finger pokes. Sometimes the tips of my fingers are so sore that I can't use them to take a blood test.

Most of you get a flu shot once a year. I have had over 2,500 needles in three years, making an average of 2 to 3 insulin shots a day.

I remember when I had no energy to do the things I loved and my body felt sad. I could not understand why I would drink and drink so much water and pop and anything I could get my hands on. One day I was so thirsty, I wanted to drink the water from the flowerpot.

Sadly I was proud of myself for loosing weight because I was fed up playing the fat kid on movies like "Butterfly Effect" and "Out of Order". I had no clue that I was loosing weight because I was sick – Jake is an actor as well as a student and hockey player.

Having diabetes is not much fun. I can never just eat something like ice cream or chocolate. I wish I could eat and not think about diabetes all the time.

Sometimes my blood sugar level goes low when I play Hockey. It makes me feel really sick and I need to have juice and eat. This becomes medical treatment, not eating for enjoyment. One night I went to bed without eating enough to get me through the night. My Mom had a feeling that something was wrong, so my Dad tested me in my sleep. I was 1.9, which means that I might not have woken up the next morning.

It takes a long time to recover from a low blood sugar -- sometimes I cry for no reason and I cannot think straight.Insulin is not a cure. It just keeps me alive.

When my blood sugar is high it makes me moody and irritable, and I know it's hard for my family to live with me this way.

My dreams are to be a pro Hockey player like my Dad was, play the drums in a rock band, and maybe direct a movie one day.

I wish that I could do all the things that other kids do without having to worry about diabetes. I wish I could have a slice of Birthday cake without feeling sick for hours afterwards.

I wish that there will soon be a cure for diabetes so that I can live a normal life and enjoy a beer with my Dad when I'm nineteen.

I wish to tell you, how much it means that people like you care about those of us that have diabetes. You have no idea how much it means to me and thousands of kids like me.

You can help Jake and thousands of other diabetic kids by sponsoring a walker or participating yourself in the Walk to Cure Diabetes on June 4th at Maffeo-Sutton Park. There will be 3 km and 5 km routes.

You'll also be helping kids like Joshua, Jake's 13-year-old brother, who was diagnosed with Diabetes a few weeks after Jake gave his speech.