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For Leigh Sargent, the most precious Mother鈥檚 Day gift is having her sons with her, especially now that they live far from their country home. Leigh鈥檚 youngest, Brodie, has type 1 diabetes, and Leigh remembers vividly his diagnosis and their family鈥檚 path back to normal.

A mother鈥檚 instinct

鈥淟iving in Mudgee, we struggled to get doctors鈥� appointments,鈥� Leigh says. 鈥淏rodie had been sick for a few weeks but never complained. He was 15. I started noticing he was getting very tired in the afternoons. He was also peeing often and losing weight. I knew something wasn鈥檛 right.

鈥淚 remember dropping him off to fish with his mates and getting straight back on the phone again to the doctor. Thankfully, they鈥檇 just had a cancellation. I told my boss I鈥檇 be back later, but I didn鈥檛 return to work for 10 days.鈥�

From the doctor鈥檚 office to emergency

From that crucial appointment, Leigh recalls, everything became a whirlwind: blood tests, a 1.5-hour drive to Dubbo Hospital emergency department, and further tests.

鈥淏rodie鈥檚 older brother, Lachie, googled his symptoms and said, 鈥業t could be diabetes鈥�. I thought that was unlikely. I thought diabetes was genetic, and no one in our family had it.鈥�  

鈥淥ur ED doctor was incredible. He explained calmly and confidently to Brodie that he had type 1 diabetes,鈥� Leigh says. 鈥淚 was scared but pretending to be calm. That doctor walked me out of the room and said, 鈥楨verything will be OK鈥�. His reassurance was exactly what I needed at that moment.鈥�

Leigh and Brodie spent a week in the hospital, with her husband and Lachie joining for training. Leigh found this time overwhelming but heard crucial advice from the care team.

鈥淭hey said, 鈥楾he most important thing you can do is to help Brodie accept it鈥�. I took that to heart. As parents, we worked hard at making diabetes a normal part of our family鈥檚 life and ensuring that Brodie lived like every other teenage country kid.鈥�

Adjusting to life at home

Leigh鈥檚 hospitality background made managing Brodie鈥檚 meals easy. She substituted ingredients, counted carbs, and adjusted their family meals. But she wanted more information about living well with diabetes.

鈥淚n the hospital, we heard a lot about what he couldn鈥檛 do. Looking back, I wish that information had been more positive.鈥�

Leigh researched online and found locals who knew about diabetes. 鈥淚 had to face my fears, like thinking that he鈥檇 die young. I learned my next-door neighbour鈥檚 dad had diabetes and was 80. A friend鈥檚 son talked with me about what worked for him, and my chiropractor recommended the 辫辞诲肠补蝉迟.鈥�

鈥淓arly on, Brodie said to me, 鈥楳um, all you ever talk about to me now is diabetes.鈥� From then, we agreed that I鈥檇 text him if I saw his insulin needed correcting or wanted to share information with him.鈥�

A new kind of normal

As the family adapted, things grew easier. Still, for a while, Leigh kept Brodie in sight. When he moved out at 18, Leigh grew nervous again.

鈥淚 knew that he needed to, but I was so used to watching him. I used the Dexcom Follow app to monitor him, even calling his housemate once at night. Everything was fine. Now, I let him handle it himself.鈥�

Blazing new trails 

While Leigh still wishes she could have diabetes instead of Brodie, she recognises what a strong, capable, and determined person he is.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to think he would have been that person anyway, but diabetes has made him extra resilient. It has also led to some new adventures, which are inspiring others. The next for Brodie is Kokoda as a team leader for the , along with his brother. Thankfully for my peace of mind, there鈥檚 also a diabetes nurse on board.鈥�  

Leigh wants other mums of children newly diagnosed with diabetes to know it will be OK. 鈥淒iabetes may be a rocky start, but it gets easier,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 have never wanted him not to do something because of his diabetes. Anything is possible. Maybe with some tweaks, but possible.鈥�