Over the years, I've written several articles about Type 1 diabetes, which is a devastating autoimmune disease.

It kills the pancreas's beta cells, making it impossible to absorb blood sugars without regular injections of insulin.

It's difficult for people without this disease to comprehend how stressful it is for those living with Type 1 diabetes and their parents.

If blood-sugar levels rise too high over a sustained period, it can have devastating implications for the internal organs, including the heart and kidneys, and a person's eyesight.

Low blood-sugar levels can be worse, triggering a potentially fatal diabetic coma.

Vancouver arts publicist Marnie Wilson's daughter Jess has Type 1 diabetes. If you have the time, I recommend you take a few minutes out of your day to watch the video below, which was prepared for this year's annual Jammin' for Jess fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The music begins at the 1:40 mark.

There are a lot of people like Jess who are living with this terrible disease, including NDP Leader Adrian Dix. The best book I've read about Type 1 diabetes was Cheating Destiny: Living With Diabetes, America's Biggest Epidemic, written by former New York Times reporter James Hirsch.

He and his brother have the disease and while he was writing Cheating Destiny, his toddler was also diagnosed.