Anthony Amato, MCH patient, appointed young ambassador for Opération Enfant Soleil

 

On March 9th, representatives from Opération Enfant Soleil were present at Hôpital La-Cité-de-la-Santé to deliver $ 58,192 to Laval’s Center for Health and Social Services (CSSS) and $ 7,916 to la Maison d’hébergement l’Envolée.

 

They were accompanied by Anthony Amato, who was recently named Opération Enfant Soleil’s regional ambassador for Laval. His parents and his sister were also in attendance. "Each region has its representative,” announced the event’s moderator, Anick Dumontet. “This year, in Laval, it's an extraordinary young man named Anthony!"

 

The 10-year-old resident of Duvernay suffers from type 1 diabetes. His pancreas is no longer functioning.

 

"Four to five times a day, I have to take my blood sugar levels by pricking my finger. The readings let me know if I need an insulin injection or if I am low, and need a drink of juice," says the young hockey fan.

 

At home, the Amato family has changed their eating habits to help motivate their son. "We have a nutritional index and a number of books in which the amount of carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables are listed," says Anthony, “it’s hard work, but you get used to it.”

 

"Our son was seven years old when he started losing weight, he was drinking up to half a litre of water every 15 minutes,” say Anthony’s parents. “Doctors were later able to diagnose him with diabetes after preliminary blood tests.”

 

"It was very difficult, "says Anthony’s mother, Sonia Carpentier. “No one in the family had been previously diagnosed with diabetes, and I was fearful of blood and injections," she says.