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Danielle and Boyd live with their two little girls聽in聽a remote mining town.聽This is where both of their families are, where they went to school, where they met and married.聽聽They love where they live and their community.聽But when聽Augie, 7,聽was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in October 2019,聽they felt a long way away from diabetes treatment and worried that聽Augie聽would feel she was the only one in the world with diabetes. That鈥檚 where聽聽has been able to help.聽

鈥淓very time I talk about it, I cry,鈥� says Danielle, when she tries to explain Augie鈥檚 diagnosis with type 1 diabetes. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 help it.鈥� 

Life was busy and good when their little daughter, nicknamed 鈥�Skinny Rabbit鈥� because of her lean frame, started being lethargic, emotional, and urinating through the night. 

鈥淎ugie woke up one night and came into me. 鈥楳ama, I鈥檝e sweated through my pyjamas.鈥� We were all so tired because of her constantly going to the toilet at night that I told her to go and change them and go back to bed,鈥� Danielle said. 

鈥淚n the morning when I got up her pants were soaked with urine and I booked her into the doctor straight away. I was worried she had a urinary tract or bad kidney infection.鈥� 

鈥淪he鈥檇 also lost quite a bit of weight. She was skinny anyway so I hadn鈥檛 put all the symptoms together.鈥� 

Danielle couldn鈥檛 get Augie into her usual doctor for a couple of weeks so saw a different GP at a new practice. 

鈥淵ep, she鈥檚 got a urinary tract infection,鈥� he said, and prescribed Augie antibiotics. 

The drugs had no effect, and Danielle was alarmed when she got a letter a week later saying something had come up in Augie鈥檚 pathology results and she needed to come back into the practice. 

There were no appointments available for two weeks.  

That night, Danielle enlisted the help of Dr Google. She turned to her husband and said 鈥淚 think Augie鈥檚 got diabetes鈥�. 

Danielle was right, and after Danielle begged for an urgent appointment with her usual GP practice, Augie was admitted the next day to the local hospital鈥檚 small paediatric ward until the Royal Flying Doctor Service took them to the nearest capital city. 

Life with diabetes had begun for Augie, and her family. 

Despite overcoming insulin dosing, carb counting, meters, pumps, continuous glucose monitoring, set changes (when the sensor and cannula have to be changed), as well as hypos (dangerously low blood glucose levels) and hypers (very high blood glucose levels), there were more challenges ahead for the young family. 

In 2020, COVID-19 closed state borders and stopped the family from attending diabetes appointments in the nearest (interstate) big city. There are no diabetes services in their town. 

鈥淯nless you鈥檙e an urgent medical case, there were no exemptions to the border closure. There were no exemptions for people with chronic conditions like diabetes,鈥� Danielle said. 

Danielle says in some ways, COVID-19 has worked in their favour. 

鈥淧rior to COVID-19, telehealth wasn鈥檛 an option for us. They talked about it, but it wasn鈥檛 acted on until isolation,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e doing all of Augie鈥檚 appointments with the Endocrinologist and Diabetes Educator over the phone.鈥� 

But Augie is facing a bigger battle than blood glucose levels. 

She doesn鈥檛 feel the same as everyone else anymore. 

鈥�Augie says things like 鈥業鈥檓 the only different one; I’m the only weird one鈥�.鈥� 

鈥淲e try not to let her wallow in it, but it hurts. I think it was yesterday she said: 鈥業’m the only one not normal in the family鈥�.鈥�  

Her mother asked her: 鈥淲hat’s normal?鈥� 

鈥淲e’ve all got something that鈥檚 different,鈥� Danielle told her daughter. 

鈥淣one of us are exactly the same, we’re all different. There is no such thing as normal.鈥�  

鈥淵ou’re just extra special.鈥� Danielle cries as she recounts her words.   

Thanks to the help of our wonderful donors, we started聽. These events provide聽opportunities to connect鈥痗hildren living with type 1 diabetes, parents鈥痑nd鈥痟ealth professionals like聽Credentialled聽Diabetes Educators鈥痑nd dietitians.聽

Being able to join DiaBuddies Days, now being delivered over the internet instead of in groups, is easing this family鈥檚 journey.

The online events, which include events for parents, carers and the children too, are designed to create an engaged, positive, online community for families that nurtures connections and confidence.  

Events for children incorporate games and some practical activities to help them understand their diabetes, have fun and meet other children with type 1 diabetes, just like them. 

Families have an opportunity to connect with each other through the activities, as well as share their tips and advice. 

Augie has already met a little girl of the same age during one of the meetings, and they鈥檝e shown each other their dogs and diabetes teddy bears complete with pumps. The girls鈥� mothers have organised to get the children together again over the internet, despite living hours away from each other. 

Danielle said the beauty of DiaBuddies is that you don’t need to explain diabetes or what you are going through.  

鈥泪迟鈥檚 just being able to hear other people’s stories and understand what they鈥檙e going through.鈥�  

鈥淧eople have got similar diagnosis stories, but their own versions, and some are a lot worse than ours so it puts things into perspective.鈥�  

鈥泪迟鈥檚 the relief of being able to connect with people who understand that you don’t get any sleep, that it’s literally like having a newborn. You can say that to other people but until you’ve lived it, you don’t really know.鈥�  

鈥泪迟鈥檚 understanding what a Dexcom set change means for a kid; being able to ask questions, troubleshoot things with people who have been through the same thing. For example, when we went on to a pump, being able to reach out to people and say, are there any tips or tricks?鈥�   

鈥淭hat connection with people is so important, especially for us in a regional area where there isn’t a diabetes support network.鈥�  

鈥�DiaBuddies is now our support network. It’s where we can see other people in the same situation.鈥� 

鈥�Even if they are thousands and thousands of kilometres away, you can still feel connected.鈥� 

Danielle says she wants to advocate for people in the diabetes community for improvements such as universal access to the latest continuous glucose monitoring equipment for all people with diabetes. 

鈥淚 want her to see me advocate for her,鈥� Danielle said.  鈥淚’m so proud of her. In the future, I want her to advocate for herself as well.鈥� 

鈥淚 want Augie to be forward-facing. I don’t want her to hide her condition. I never want her to feel ashamed of having diabetes.鈥�