At the sharp end by Simon O'Neill in You Won't Feel a Thing: Needles in Medical Histo

[Copepod]

I found the chapter (part II) "At the sharp end", pages 14 - 17, written by Simon O'Neill BA (Hons) RGN RSCN, Head of Diabetes Care Services of British Diabetic Association in "You Won't Feel a Thing: Needles in Medical History" An Exhibition at the Wellcome Trust History of Medicine Gallery, April 1998. ISBN 1 869835 97 2. The exhibition also had some testimony from people who'd had diabetes in the days of resharpening needles with glass paper and storing glass syringes in alcohol, before home blood glucose monitors were available. Of course, since then, BDA has changed its name to Diabetes UK and Wellcome Trust has expanded and moved a couple of doors along Euston Rd, London.

I'd like to alert others to Simon's writing and thank him for it- I think it will be particularly relevent to people like me who qualify as nurses (or other medical professionals) and then develop what you have been told is unusual - diabetes requiring insulin as a young adult. Until discovering MAD (Mountains for Active Diabetics) and this board, his 4 pages were the most useful thing I read after diagnosis!

If anyone knows Simon, please get him to PM me - thanks.

 

[simoneill]

Still at the sharp end!

Hi Copepod
Thank you for your kind comments about this piece. I remember writing it very well - and am still at Diabetes UK today, although now Director of the CIA (Care, Information and Advocacy). I just reread the piece and am pleased to see that we have moved on in some ways (DAFNE and pen needles on prescription to name but two) but sad to see that so many things still haven't really changed (reminder to me - I must work harder!!). I'm glad that you found it helpful to you. I think we all need to know that someone else is out there in the same sort of place as us - and for those of us diagnosed with Type 1 outside the 'usual' time of childhood, it can be very isolating indeed.
One thing you mentioned made me presume that you were in nursing or some similar profession and I wondered if you (or other healthcare professionals with diabetes out there) knew about PROUD. They are a group of people with diabetes who also happen to be doctors or nurses. They have a web-site at www.proud-diabetes.org and are doing some interesting work about collecting the experiences of those who live and work with diabetes professionally.
Thanks again and happy to PM - and if I knew how to do it, I would have done
Cheers
simon

 

[Copepod]

Hi Simon - great that you found the reference - your writing really did help me a lot then.

Yes, you're right I was a nurse, although had changed to a different area of work before diagnosis - and the useless attitudes of the nurses I encountered when first diagnosed made life more difficult. I knew specialist nurses could be good, as I'd seen breast care, stoma care and children's tracheostomy nurses at the hospital where I'd worked. Yes, I know about PROUD - and I'm still intending to write a personal story for them.

I will PM you - you'll need to log in, and click on "private messages" (in pink print) at the top left of the page, just below the .co.uk in large black print.