Up a flagpole: Montrealer marks 100th anniversary of insulin discovery with special fundraiser

Montrealer Leanne Souquet has her sights on a unique fundraiser idea: she wants to live atop a flagpole for 100 hours.

Souquet is raising funds to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes, as Canada marks the 100th anniversary of the first successful injection of insulin.

The event is part of the “Let’s Make History Again” campaign with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

“Type 1 diabetes is a disease where your pancreas stops producing insulin,” said Souquet. “We don’t really know exactly all the causes, but insulin is a hormone that a person needs in order to get energy from the food that they eat.”

When she was 21, Souquet was in law school when she noticed sudden weight loss and was having trouble staying awake. A simple blood test showed she had type 1 diabetes.

The flag pole Leanne Souquet will be spending 100 hours on. (Credit: CityNews/Pamela Pagano)

Even though it comes with its challenges, Souquet is able to live a life as normal as possible thanks to insulin injections.

That injection was discovered in Toronto a centennial ago and is considered to be one of Canada’s greatest gifts to the world. But it’s not a cure. Millions across the globe require it to stay alive, including Souquet and her daughter.

“I knew instantly all the challenges that she would be facing throughout her life, so that was difficult,” said the Montrealer. “But on the other hand, given that I was diabetic, the transition was really smooth for our family because I knew how to deal with it. We always treated it as a mother-daughter bond.”

The ‘Flagpole 100 challenge’ was inspired by longtime JDRF supporter Peter Oliver 32 years ago. Oliver lived atop a flagpole until he raised $250,000 for type 1 diabetes research after his daughter’s diagnosis at the age of six.

Oliver once described living alone on top of a flagpole as being similar to the endless balancing act of life and death decisions that those living with diabetes face each day, which can feel extremely isolating.

Credit: CityNews/Pamela Pagano

“The 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, 100 hours,” said Souquet. “There are hundreds of families from coast to coast that are going to be doing their own 100-hour challenge, camping in local parks, in their backyards, even in their basements.”

Souquet, whose challenge lasts from April 4-8 in downtown Montreal, is one of five people across Canada who will be living atop a flagpole for 100 hours. The others will be in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

“I’m not afraid of heights, I think I should be good with that,” she said. “I think the biggest challenge for me is just going to be not being able to move around.”

It’s a challenge she’s ready to take on,

“Even though insulin has saved millions of lives since its discovery 100 years ag, there still is no cure and that’s what we’re working towards with this campaign.”