Jeanne Bank

Banting House

Hello, my name is Jeanne Bank. I’m a longtime volunteer here at the Banting House National Historic Site.

And the reason why my son-in-law thought this would be a good place for me to volunteer is that my daughter has lived with Type 1 diabetes for the last 21 years, so he knew that I had an interest and that I probably would be the kind of tour volunteer that could, you know, provide a good story of Doctor Banting and to engage the visitors. And it’s just been it’s been an absolute joy.

Well, I know my daughter… When I started volunteering here, she said make sure, mom, that you have Kleenex when you go into the bedroom. Because that’s the place where Doctor Banting came up with the idea for insulin and so a lot of the people that walk into that bedroom. That bedroom really looks and feels just like it did when he lived here. It has the same floor covering. It has his metal bedstead. It has the same wallpaper as when he lived here. So people are literally transported back to that day, when he came up with the idea. And it’s very emotional because a lot of people recognize at that point that if he hadn’t come up with that idea, they might not be alive today.

Last year, to celebrate or not maybe celebrate is not right word, but to recognize my daughter’s 20 years journey. She was diagnosed when she was 18 years old, just before she was heading off to university, and so we felt that it was important to recognize that milestone of 20 years of living with type 1 diabetes. And so my whole family chipped in. And we got her a brick that now sits out in the garden and and that’s going to be there forever. It’s going to be there for her. It’s going to be there for her children and any family and friends that want to recognize what that journey has been for her. So that for us that also connects me to this place and makes this place very important, so it’s something that will last beyond my time as a volunteer because at some point I won’t be able to volunteer any longer here. But we will have that brick to recognize her, her journey. We were able to the bricks all get recognized and I suppose unveiled on World Diabetes Day, which is November the 14th so the whole family was here last November the 14th to see the brand. Pretty special.