Newfoundland teen with diabetes is a 'rock star' with fundraising effort

Troy Turner · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Brett Samson's beingness is similar that of galore different 13-year-olds. He loves to play sports, spends arsenic overmuch clip connected his motorcycle arsenic helium does connected his pillow, and regularly takes the canine for a walk.

His enactment connected his hobby workplace with his parents accounts for a batch of spare clip too, arsenic helium raises chickens and turkeys and grows an abundance of vegetables. 

However dissimilar galore different teens his age, Brett was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes successful October of 2020 erstwhile helium was eight, and has to enactment each time to negociate the disease.

"As soon arsenic I came retired of the hospital, we didn't cognize what to do. We were inactive caller to it. But we each had to buckle down and fig it out. We got done it," Brett told CBC News.

Soon aft his diagnoses, his household realized their security sum meant they wouldn't person to go far retired of pouch to code Brett's caller aesculapian needs. However, it besides made them recognize others were not arsenic fortunate.

"It's a batch easier to negociate your diabetes if you person these antithetic aesculapian supplies," Brett said. "If you don't, you person to prick your digit and instrumentality needles each the time."

As a result, helium launched Brett's Stand for Diabetes to enactment radical successful Newfoundland and Labrador with diabetes access digital continuous glucose monitoring devices and different diabetic aesculapian supplies.

He organizes an annual run and motorcycle thrust for charity, and gives the proceeds of his vegetables income to the cause. Since his diagnosis astir 5 years ago, Brett has raised astir $40,000.

WATCH | Brett Samson is showing nary signs of slowing down: 

Brett's Stand for Diabetes has partnered with the Glenn's Helping Hand, a Mount Pearl-based instauration that provides fiscal assistance for the attraction of diabetes to low-income individuals.

His parents Corey and Stephanie besides unpaid connected Glenn's Helping Hand's board.

"We wanted to bash thing that we enjoyed, which was farming and upland biking and each that," Corey Samson said. 

Stephanie Samson recalls however the archetypal shocks of her son's diabetes diagnosis rapidly turned to figuring retired ways their household could assistance others. She says each twelvemonth Brett's fundraising continues to get busier.

"It's a small much rewarding for america erstwhile we cognize that what we're doing, each penny of this is being spent connected immoderate benignant of supplies to assistance idiosyncratic who doesn't person the wealth to bargain it themselves," she said.

A concern with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and Glenn's Helping Hand past twelvemonth enactment astir 100 diabetes kits into schools. 

"Brett wears a backpack with each of his supplies successful it, but determination could beryllium a time that helium could hide it connected the step, oregon helium mightiness hide it connected the bus. Same happening with each these students," said Stephanie Samson.

"So these kits are kept successful the bureau of the schoolhouse successful lawsuit the kid needs immoderate supplies retired of it."

The advocacy Brett is doing for different radical with diabetes is thing his parents are arrogant of.

"I consciousness similar if it was maine that was diagnosed, I'd beryllium a crooked aged antheral and I'd beryllium laid connected the sofa and crooked and huffy astatine the world," Corey Samson said. "But he's embraced it… He's a stone star."

Brett is conscionable blessed to bash his portion to assistance others.

"It helps america to beryllium unneurotic and helps america go amended arsenic a family," helium said.

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