Tamara McKay and Craig Veroni knew something wasn’t quite right with their son last fall when the active eight-year-old suddenly developed an unquenchable thirst. The North Vancouver couple made an appointment with their family doctor; three hours later, they were at B.C. Children’s Hospital getting a diagnosis that left McKay in tears.

“The doctor looked at us and said, ‘William has Type 1 diabetes,’ ” McKay says in a phone call. “ ‘He will be insulin-dependent from this moment on. Your life is completely different.’ ”

The doctor made sure William got out of the hospital in time for his school’s Halloween dance that same night, but just how different their lives would be didn’t fully sink in for some time. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, occurs when the pancreas doesn’t make insulin, a hormone that regulates the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. Without insulin, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being used for energy and, over time, high blood sugar can lead to serious problems affecting the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and more.

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes involves an incredibly steep learning curve, and it’s not just a matter of pricking your finger to test blood for sugar or injecting insulin into various parts of your body several times a day. It’s far more complex and daunting than that.

“People always say, ‘You can manage it; as long as you manage it, it’s no problem, right?’ ” McKay says. “But people die from this. It’s all on you to manage it now for consequences that might happen 20 or 30 years from now. You have that pressure of his quality of life as an adult, then the immediate pressure of not making any mistakes with his insulin and not letting him [his blood-sugar level] get too low.

“It’s not just, ‘Give a dose [of insulin] and he’ll be fine,’ ” she adds. “The dose changes all the time. It’s an art and not a science. Type 1 diabetes requires constant vigilance. You have to be on the ball all the time.”

McKay says that what’s helped her family cope with the impact of the disease is the support they have received from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which also funds research into preventing, treating, and curing diabetes. That’s why all three of them are volunteering together at the JDRF’s annual Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes, taking place on Sunday (June 14) in Vancouver (at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park) and Abbotsford.

“We were contacted by the JDRF right away,” McKay says about receiving William’s diagnosis. “They offer you mentors and support groups; they offer to pair you up with another parent who’s gone through what you’re going through.…They really are your lifeline.

“Supporting that community is really important,” she adds. “We wanted something that we could do as a family, because this really is a family diagnosis. You really have to work together as a team.”

The Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes is just one of several charity runs, races, and events taking place in and around Vancouver this summer. Check out these others and get moving while giving back.

Seek The Peak (June 14)
This race isn’t for the faint of heart: the 16-kilometre route is all uphill, featuring a 1,250-metre climb from Ambleside Beach to the base of Grouse Mountain, up the Grouse Grind, and then from the top of the Grind to the Peak of Vancouver and back down to the mountain’s chalet. The event’s tag line says it all: “Think a few hills are tough? Try beating breast cancer.” Last year, more than 700 hard-core runners participated in this event benefiting the B.C. Cancer Foundation, the fundraising partner of the B.C. Cancer Agency.

Goodlife Fitness City Chase (June 27)
This urban adventure is modelled on The Amazing Race: teams of two hoof it all over town deciphering clues to get from one spot to the next and stopping along the way to complete challenges that test their wit, athletic abilities, teamwork, speed, intelligence, and personal limits. Funds raised go to the Goodlife Kids Foundation, which supports physical-activity programs for children with autism.

Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5K (June 28)
This marks the JDRF’s first year as a participating charity in the Canada Running Series event. (McKay is running in it; William Veroni, now nine, set up a lemonade stand recently and is donating the $200 he earned to his mom’s fundraising efforts.)

What makes the Scotiabank race unique is that it supports scores of charitable organizations, from the ALS Society of B.C. to Zajac Ranch for Children. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, which is dedicated to funding blood-cancer research and providing patient education and support, is the event’s national charity partner. Its featured charities this year, meanwhile, are Music Heals Charitable Foundation, which aims to increase access to music therapy; the Tapestry Foundation for Health Care, which helps seniors; and Women Against Violence Against Women.

Summerfast 10K (July 18)
Speed is the name of the game for this course along the Stanley Park seawall. A portion of each entry fee goes to the Canucks Autism Network (CAN), which provides year-round sports, recreational, social, and employment programs for people with autism.

Color Me Rad 5K (August 1)
Taking inspiration from Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, this event occurring at UBC Thunderbird Stadium “represents the end of lame runs and the beginning of fun runs”. Every 15 minutes or so, volunteers toss nontoxic “colour bombs” on runners, so that each one ends up looking like a walking Jackson Pollock painting by the event’s end. Its national charity partner is feedONE, which provides food to impoverished children around the globe.