Author: Frank

Hypo on the Harbour

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I’ve been wanting to do the BridgeClimb ever since I got to Sydney, and Tuesday’s spectacular weather looked like the perfect opportunity to do so. Everyone else wanted to come down to Sydney Harbour one last time before we left, so we decided to head down together for lunch beforehand.

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The steak burger I ordered for lunch came on a plate piled with way too many chips. I knew that I probably shouldn’t have eaten all of them. I knew that I was already feeling full after I was about halfway through. And I knew that amount of chips would probably send my blood sugars through the roof. But that plate looked so irresistable, and I was on holiday. In anticipation of that surge in my Blood Sugar Levels, I dialled up a generous dose of Insulin to cover it, and downed most of the plate.

After lunch, I separated from the others and headed off to book my climb. I still had well over an hour to kill before my 3.25pm climb, and decided to set off down a familiar walkway that I’d wanted to venture last time I was here. This walkway was situated directly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and took me right across to the other side. On the other side of the bridge was the Town of Kirribilli, a densely populated area in the northern part of Sydney. There were lots of apartment buildings, small streets, some vintage buildings and a train station called Milson’s Point. I really wish I’d taken some photos!

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Although I was carrying a shopping bag with all of my supplies, I had completely forgotten to bring some sugar for the BridgeClimb. There was a small Pharmacy there on that quiet street, and I was debating whether to go in and buy some jellybeans. I talked myself out of it, thinking that there was no way I’d go hypo after that lunch I’d had. I’d just be stuck with a packet of jellybeans to finish, something that I am absolutely sick of using for hypo treatment.

I headed back to my side of the bridge, and made my way back to that deserted street where the BridgeClimb building was located. I found some steps to sit and have a rest, and pulled out my meter to test. As much as I just wanted to sit there and rest, my meter forced me up again with the news that my blood sugar was 4.0. Just 4.0 less than two hours after eating lunch. Yikes. It must have been that long walk. I knew I had to get moving. I knew I had to find a shop of some sort to buy a drink from. And boy, oh boy, that street was dead quiet.

I started walking along, desperately searching for some sort of a shop. I really didn’t want to have to walk all the way back over to the busy Harbour area. But all I could see were high walls, deserted town houses and a few pubs. I really did not want to have to walk into a pub in that situation, either, but it might have to be a last resort. I found a modern looking building that stuck out in this old, quaint looking area. And there were signs of life inside. Nope, it was just an indoor basketball court. Walking a little further down, and I finally found a shop, where I grabbed an overpriced bottle of Solo.

I found a shady park bench outside and sat down under it. I cracked open the lid, and skulled down half the bottle. That cold, sweet liquid entering my mouth was the perfect thirst quencher after that long walk. I sat there for about 15 minutes. The calm slowly began to return to me, and I was able to get my breath back.

I walked into the BridgeClimb building and took a seat in the waiting area. I pulled out my meter, proudly held up the 6.2 post-hypo result, and decided to take a #BGLSelfie for National Diabetes Week. Because even a bad hypo wasn’t about to ruin my day.

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Sunny Saturday at Sydney Harbour

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Seriously, Sydney is one of my favourite places in the world. Don’t get me wrong, Canberra was great. But as I was sitting in the taxi on the way from the airport to my hotel, my spark had well and truly returned. Drinking in the views of all these familiar places flying past me, I began to recall all of those awesome memories from last time I was here. And I was damn excited. Excited that I would be spending another week in this awesome city. The city that has by far cemented itself as my favourite city in Australia.

And this is just one of many reasons.

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Seriously, I reckon a day at Sydney Harbour can fix just about any problem in the world. And if it’s a sunny day, that’s just an added bonus. The sunshine, the hustle and bustle, and just soaking in the beauty of it all. Its amazing. There’s just nothing that even comes close to this back home in Perth. Its another one of those places where life just seems to come to a standstill. And with diabetes, we need all of those moments we can get!

When I was in Canberra, my BGL’s were pretty good by holiday standards. And most mornings there I woke up to pretty decent levels. But it is a LOT harder to avoid temptation here. There are so many amazing places to eat. And then there are those places that I just want to go to every day and stock up while I can.

Like for instance, the Cannoli at Rossini Cafe.

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One thing that I regretted not doing last time I was here was a tour of the Sydney Opera House. So, naturally, it was the first thing I wanted to do when I got here. After racing to the top of the stairs and attempting to open just about every door around the building, I finally realised that the proper entrance to the Foyer was tucked in about halfway up the stairs. I got my ticket, sat outside and did a quick check of my BGLs while I waited. A perfect 5.2.

The tour started, and we were treated to some more beautiful views, this time inside the building. There’s this reception room inside that’s been designed to make you feel like you’re on a cruise ship.

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And this theatre with its ‘donut’ ornaments on the ceiling.

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And an exclusive “side on” view of the building iteslf.

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When the tour finished an hour later, I was slightly hypo. 3.9 I think. Perfect excuse to head over to Rossini’s for another Cannoli!

Sydney Harbour is bloody amazing. It was just one of those picture perfect days that I’ll remember forever, and it was great to finally be able to tick the Opera House off of my list.

Enough With The Scare Tactics and Blame Games

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I’m disappointed with the approach that Diabetes Australia has taken towards this year’s National Diabetes Week campaign. You need only have a read of that poster to see that it paints a great, big sad picture of diabetes. A great, big sad picture of me and the 1.1 million other Australians living with this disease. And yet another diabetes stigma that I will have to combat. Another 280 people will be diagnosed with diabetes in Australia today, and that poster doesn’t give them much hope for a healthy life.

Look, I honestly get that type 2 diabetes is preventable. And if there’s something that we can do to reduce it’s impact on other lives, then I’m all for it. But I think in the midst of this campaign, Diabetes Australia may have forgotten that some of their audience following this campaign are people with already diagnosed diabetes.

And as a person with already diagnosed diabetes, I absolutely hate reading such demoralising statements. Diabetes is NOT a burden that I “will have to spend the rest of my life managing 24/7.” Its not a great burden on me, and most certainly not on my family. I can confidently say that I’ve done and achieved everything that I would have done regardless of my diabetes. If diabetes was a burden, I certainly wouldn’t have graduated from uni, travelled, worked and adventured. Hell, how would I even be able to get out of bed in the morning?

Yes, there certainly are days where diabetes does feel somewhat of a burden. But its the last thing I want to be told. Hearing those words out loud is demoralising. Its a put down. It’s enough to remind me, to reinforce to me those more difficult aspects of diabetes. It’s enough to make me lose my motivation. Its enough to ruin a good day. And I certainly wouldn’t even consider walking up to a friend and saying, “I feel so sorry for you, you will have to spend the rest of your life managing diabetes 24/7.”

And when that poster brings up the growing epidemic of diabetes, it just screams of the blame game. It seems to imply that its our fault. That we are doing something wrong. That somehow, I, and everyone like me, are a part of the problem. In the case of type 1 diabetes, I made my message loud and clear in yesterday’s post. There is no definitive cause to type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is not caused by a lack of exercise, a bad diet or unhealthy lifestyle. Its not my fault. Its not my family’s fault. It’s just another card that I’ve been dealt with to play in life.

And in the case of type 2 diabetes, an unhealthy lifestyle certainly isn’t the sole cause either. Things like genetics, family history, age, gestational diabetes and even ethnicity can play a part. And let’s not forget that some of those lifestyle factors are out of our control too. Things like slow metabolisms and actual chronic conditions that inhibit activity. And in the cases where diabetes may be caused by lifestyle factors, playing the blame game does very little to empower the newly diagnosed patient. And playing the blame game doesn’t help them in coming to terms with their diagnosis.

And then there’s the lovely list of complications. I’m haunted by the thought of complications. Every time that I’m not feeling right, I worry that maybe I’ve done something wrong. Every time that I see a bad reading, I think that maybe, just maybe, I’ve pushed my body to its limits and caused some kind of irreperable damage. I still get scared to this very day. And I’m in my twenties. What about all the poor type 1 kids out there who have to see these horrible images. What about the poor parents who have to go to bed at night with those horrible thoughts, worrying for their child’s future.

I don’t want to hear that I’m going to develop complications. I don’t want to hear that diabetes is somehow my fault. And I certainly don’t want to be painted a great, big sad picture of what my life will not be.

In my opinion, there’s a much better way of doing it.

Give me a campaign that empowers me to be healthy. Give me a campaign that empowers the whole world to be healthy. A campaign that uses great big words. Words like Conqueror. Warrior. Dominator. Gladiator. Survivor. Show me what a healthy life is capable of. Show me what a healthy life with diabetes is capable of. And make me want to go out there and be as healthy and happy as I can be.

HBF Health Insurance in Western Australia have the right idea. They have a fantastic marketing message that goes something like “it’s amazing what a healthy body can do.” Just check out their Facebook page – its flooded with bright, colourful images of healthy people, tips and advice for living well.

I would really love to see a campaign like this next year. I have the utmost respect for Diabetes Australia, but enough with the scare tactics and blame games.

Diabetes Australia’s National Diabetes Week 2015 runs from July 12-18, 2015. To find out more about the ‘280 a Day’ campaign and how you can get involved, click here. 

I Have Type 1 Diabetes, and It’s Not My Fault

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Happy National Diabetes Week to my fellow Aussie d-friends! This year’s campaign, ‘280 a Day,’ asks us to help raise awareness of the 280 Aussies who are diagnosed with diabetes every day.

Going by the stats on Diabetes Australia’s website, there are 1.1 million Aussies living with diabetes. 120,000, or 10.9% of those people have type 1 diabetes. And of those 280 people diagnosed a day, around 31 of them are told they have type 1 diabetes.

When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on May 9, 2010, there were 30 other people going through exactly the same thing I was. And although I wouldn’t have wished it on any of them, its a very comforting thought.

30 other people were feeling weak. Lethargic. Exhausted. Thirsty. Nauseated. Breathless. Constantly needing to urinate. Losing their saliva. And their appetite. There were 30 others out there who, just like me, were not feeling like themselves. There were parents, just like mine, who were starting to worry about their child’s deteriorating state. Other doctors across the nation were hearing patients recall those symptoms I was having. Its likely that there were others, like me, who were misdiagnosed. And there’s a very good chance that there was someone else, just like me, who had to be rushed to hospital with severe ketoacidosis.

There were 30 other lives that were changed permanently on the 9th of May, 2010. 30 other people had their very first blood glucose test. The first of thousands and thousands. 30 other people were told they would have to take insulin injections for the rest of their lives. And to overcome their fear of needles. And there were 30 other groups of loved ones feeling concern and uncertainty.

And there’s one thing that I would like to remind myself.

It’s not my fault.

I didn’t do anything to cause this. I didn’t do anything to deserve this. I didn’t have an unhealthy diet. I didn’t eat too much junk food. I didn’t have too much soft drink. I wasn’t a lazy person. I wasn’t overweight. I didn’t spend too much time in front of the television. My parents took good care of me. And my loved ones had a good influence on me.

Type 1 diabetes is a complete and utter mystery. And there is absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it. But I have been able to live a relatively normal life. And hopefully, a long and healthy life.

I’ve still been able to enjoy cake.

I have still been able to visit some amazing places.

I’ve still been able to drink coffee.

…and eat Cannoli.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you that type 1 diabetes is your fault. And don’t let type 1 diabetes stop you from doing anything.

Diabetes Australia’s National Diabetes Week 2015 runs from July 12-18, 2015. To find out more about the ‘280 a Day’ campaign and how you can get involved, click here. 

Finding a Moment Away From Diabetes

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I’m sitting here, right now, staring out at the most beautiful view of the night sky. It’s incredible. It’s breathtaking. And I’m not even perched at the top of a windy lookout tower. I’m watching from the comfort of my hotel living room, thanks to its height and magnificent floor to ceiling windows. I could actually sit here for hours and hours staring endlessly at it.

I’m watching the headlights and break lights of cars illuminated in the night sky, trying to follow them with my eyes along those roads winding out of the city. Building lights and corporate names jump out at me among the sea of bright, colourful city lights that stretch for miles and miles. Lights that get smaller and smaller the further out that I look. Lights that start to twinkle when I focus my eyes on them, like the streets at Christmas time.

Down there is the rest of the world. The world that I’m usually a part of. A world where diabetes is ever present by my side. The streets that I walk each day, with my meter and insulin pen tucked safely in my jeans and jacket pockets. The day job that I try and focus on doing between the hours of 7 and 3, whilst my mind is caught up in the “I wonder what my blood sugar levels are” game. The foods that leave me with insulin dose and carb counting questions to answer. And the pillow that I can never rest my head upon at night with total certainty.

And then there’s here. Here, up above, I feel like I’m in my own little world. Tucked away in my corner, looking down and taking it all in. Right now, in this very moment, it feels like time has stopped. It feels as though, albeit temporarily, I get a break from that great big world. And from my friend diabetes that follows me around like a heavy backpack on my shoulder (sometimes).

Right now, I get a special moment. A moment where I don’t need to check my blood sugar. A moment where I don’t need to dial up an insulin dose. And a moment where I don’t need to correct a hypo. Its the closest I’ll ever get to being free from diabetes. In this one special moment, I can just sit here with my cup of tea and take it all in.

And it’s bloody amazing.

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