Vancouver teen spending 4 days atop 40-foot pole to support diabetes research
Posted April 5, 2022 11:07 am.
Last Updated April 5, 2022 4:08 pm.
Unlike most 16-year-olds, Wilson Gaglardi isn’t spending this week in school or with his friends. The Vancouver teen is instead living atop a 40-foot flagpole downtown.
Gaglardi has type-1 Diabetes and takes insulin on a regular basis is essential to staying alive.
“Without insulin, I wouldn’t be able to survive. Without daily injections, I wouldn’t be able to survive,” he said.
His 100-hour flagpole sit is in support of an an effort to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s goal to find a cure.
“It’s kind of sickening that other families don’t get the opportunity to have all the medical technology that I do,” Gaglardi told CityNews, adding he feels it’s his duty to help find a cure for the disease.
He started this event at Granville Square Plaza in Downtown Vancouver on Monday, April 4, which was the 100th anniversary of the first successful injection of insulin.
Gaglardi is among five Canadians living atop flagpoles across Canada, a stint that was originally done in 1990 by the co-chair of a JDRF campaign. The 2022 campaign, called “Let’s Make History Again,” aims to inspire Canadians to help find a cure.
His tent is small, but warm. He’s got a sleeping bag and a chair in there, and food is brought up to him regularly. He also has a portable toilet.
“It doesn’t smell right now, but we’ll see what happens later,” he said.
He isn’t allowed any visitors inside, aside from his mom.
Being a typical teen, he’s been keeping busy with his schoolwork and watching movies to pass the time. However, boredom does set in occasionally.
“I bet after I’m done with this whole event, it won’t feel like 100 hours. It’ll feel shorter than that.”
If you would like to donate to Gaglardi’s campaign, you can visit his fundraiser page online.
