Diabetes doesen鈥檛 hold back 91原创鈥檚 Emma Mcconnell, a 91原创 teen who devotes 16 hours a week to studying dance, jazz and hip-hop, along with taking choir at 91原创 Fine Arts School.

Dance has always been a big part of her life, Emma, 14, explained, relating how 鈥渨hen I was little, we used to play music and we would dance.鈥�

Diabetes has also been a part of her life.

When Emma was eight years old, she felt very unwell and fell in her kitchen. She was taken to BC Children鈥檚 Hospital and after being assessed and tested, she was diagnosed with diabetes.

Like her dancing, she is disciplined about monitoring her insulin level and taking the necessary measures to treat her condition.

But even someone as careful as Emma is, can have a day turned upside down by diabetes.

For example, there was the time she went swimming at a friend鈥檚 house and didn鈥檛 realize the insulin pump she wears had been 鈥渂onked,鈥� accidentally dislodging the tube she relied on, something that wasn鈥檛 discovered until she became very ill later in the day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating,鈥� Emma told the 91原创 Advance Times.

Her mother Sarah said it took Emma a long time to recover.

鈥淚t [diabetes] can hijack a lot of things,鈥� Sarah said.

鈥淵ou need to be on it all the time.鈥�

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Mother and daughter have gone public to support the work of B.C. Children鈥檚 Hospital.

Emma has learned how to manage her insulin and ongoing treatments through the Vancouver hospital鈥檚 鈥淒iabetes Boot Camp鈥�.

She also has been involved in the hospital鈥檚 Diabetes Transformation Project that aims aims to improve the lives and health outcomes of children living with diabetes.

Research supported by the hospital has made a difference in Emma鈥檚 life, mother and daughter agree.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen the benefits,鈥� Sarah said.

鈥淲ith the support of BC Children鈥檚 Hospital and the project that we have been actually working on, we鈥檝e been able to gain our confidence and connect with other families and be able to come to grips and live our fullest life with this disease in our family.鈥�

To support the B.C. Children鈥檚 hospital foundation, .

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