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Imagine being a 12-year-old boy and a doctor tells you that you have diabetes. Now, imagine if that boy’s dream is to play in the National Hockey League, just like his father.

That’s what happened to new Canadiens forward Max Domi.

Domi, the son of former Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi, was in the car with his mother, Leanne, driving home to Toronto from Detroit 11 years ago when he kept asking her to stop at gas stations so he could urinate. He was also incredibly thirsty. After they got home, Leanne took her son to see their family doctor, who ran blood tests and then informed the boy that he was a Type 1 diabetic.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and kills the beta cells of the pancreas.

“No, or very little, insulin is released into the body,” the Diabetes Canada website explains. “As a result, sugar builds up in the blood instead of being used as energy. About 10 per cent of people with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes generally develops in childhood or adolescence, but can develop in adulthood.”