06 September 2013

 
carole -
As a mother of a 4 year old Type 1 Diabetic I know first-hand how hard it is to cope day to day with the ups and downs of Type 1 Diabetes. We live every minute of the day with the constant reminder that no matter how many times we test, count carbohydrates, rejig insulin doses and so on there is still the risk of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic events happening in the blink of an eye for no reason at all.
We all try as hard as we can to help our Type 1 Children live the life of a 'normal' child. While we are going along with our lives and treating Diabetes out in the open, as you have to when you have Type 1 Diabetes, you pull out the test kit and someone stops and asks 'Has he got Diabetes?'. 'Yes, he does, Type 1 Diabetes' I always say to them but still the comments start... 'My Grandmother has Diabetes, she just takes tablets', 'Did you feed him too much sugar?', 'I know a person that was put on a diet and was cured of Diabetes', 'He'll grow out of it' and the list of comments goes on and on. Every day we put up with the snarls and comments from the general public due to the name Diabetes. The general public associate the word Diabetes with Type 2 and, due to a lack of education and awareness, do not realise that Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes are two completely different diseases. 
Type 1 HAS NO CURE
Type 1 is an AUTO IMMUNE DISEASE
Type 1 is FOR LIFE
Type 1 Diabetics rely on INSULIN TO LIVE
Type 1 Diabetics need to TEST BLOOD GLUCOSE & COUNT CARBOHYDRATES every time they eat
Type 1 Diabetics CAN EAT ANYTHING including sugar and as a matter of fact SUGAR actually SAVES THEIR LIVES
Type 1 is NOT treatable with TABLETS OR DIET
One suggestion that has stuck with me, thanks Ian de Wal, is P.A.I.D (Pancreatic Auto Immune Disease) that's what it is, isn't it??!!
Thanks for reading and a special thanks for signing: https://www.change.org/petitions/change-the-name-of-type-1-diabetes
Regards
Amanda Lenehan

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