Josh Davies, the 12-year-old victim of a recent theft at an Airdrie arena’s dressing room, will soon have a new insulin pump thanks to a donation from the CJAY92 kids fund.
“It’s a life-saving device and it gives me insulin,” said Josh who has Type 1 diabetes. “It keeps me alive.”
On Friday evening, Josh and his Pee Wee AA White teammates practiced at Ron Ebbesen Arena in Airdrie. While the players were on the ice, someone entered the dressing room and stole a case containing Josh’s digital insulin pump and monitor. The theft wasn’t discovered until later that night.
“I noticed it wasn’t there when I got home,” said Josh. “It wasn’t in my bag.”
A review of the arena’s surveillance recordings identified a potential suspect and Airdrie RCMP launched an investigation into the incident. RCMP have released a surveillance still of the suspected thief.
According to Rosalind Davies, Josh’s mother, the pump is worth $6,300. The pump was originally paid for by the province but the government will not subsidize the cost of a replacement device.
“Being on a waiting list for this and only having it for a few short months was heartbreaking,” said Rosalind. “We would have to start all over again and figure out Plan B.”
On Wednesday morning, Rosalind received an unexpected phone call from CJAY 92 host JD Lewis. He informed her that the radio station wanted to pay for a replacement insulin pump for Josh through its listener funded Gerry Forbes secret wish kids fund.
“This is exactly why we have the CJAY92 kids fund,” explained Lewis. “These are the stories we want to be involved in. These are the kind of people we want to help.”
Thursday morning, Josh and Rosalind visited the radio station where they were presented with a cheque for $6,300.
In addition to the funding from the CJAY92 kids fund, a GoFundMe page, since closed, collected more than $6,300 for an insulin pump for Josh. According to the Davies, the money donated through the GoFundMe page will be split between organizations that research juvenile diabetes and the Gerry Forbes secret wish kids fund.
RCMP have not made an arrest in connection with the dressing room theft. Anyone with information regarding the theft is asked to contact local police or Crime Stoppers.
With files from CTV’s Shaun Frenette
CJAY 92 and CTV Calgary are both divisions of Bell Media.