Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Having been diagnosed with diabetes nearly three years ago has resulted in me being very concerned about my long-term health, so I do all within my power to educate myself about the disease and how best to manage it. A few months ago I applied for a job with the MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association), and began research into MND, its treatment and outcomes. My prior knowledge consisted purely of the knowledge that Stephen Hawking and Don Revie both suffer from it. Stephen is actually, I discovered, very rare, in that he has lived with the disease for decades, most can expect life expectancy from diagnosis of between six and eighteen months, a fact I was very shocked to discover.
With diabetes, there is usually some hope, however bad things might seem. There are effective drugs and treatments that can be used to mitigate the effects and prolong function way beyond what used to be the case even a few short years ago, and things are improving all the time. Imagine then, how it might feel to be in the prime of your life and given the news that you have a disease for which there is no treatment, no effective drugs, little in the way of significant research and an inevitable, probably rapid, loss of function including eating, talking, walking ? everything ? before succumbing to death.
This is the situation that faced Ulla-Carin. Diagnosed on her 50th birthday, the former fit and healthy reporter describes the progression of her disease and the effects on her young sons, husband and friends. It?s an immensely sad story, but beautiful and moving too. There is great courage, humour, frustration, anger and fear, as well as clear explanation of the day-to-day difficulties of living with this rare disease, the coping strategies, and the thread running throughout of how best to prepare her children for the worst.
Whenever I feel that diabetes is a burden, that I don?t deserve it and I fret about the future, my thoughts return to this book and I thank my lucky stars ? and hope too that I never hear such an awful diagnosis, for it is not beyond possibility.
Rowing without Oars
With diabetes, there is usually some hope, however bad things might seem. There are effective drugs and treatments that can be used to mitigate the effects and prolong function way beyond what used to be the case even a few short years ago, and things are improving all the time. Imagine then, how it might feel to be in the prime of your life and given the news that you have a disease for which there is no treatment, no effective drugs, little in the way of significant research and an inevitable, probably rapid, loss of function including eating, talking, walking ? everything ? before succumbing to death.
This is the situation that faced Ulla-Carin. Diagnosed on her 50th birthday, the former fit and healthy reporter describes the progression of her disease and the effects on her young sons, husband and friends. It?s an immensely sad story, but beautiful and moving too. There is great courage, humour, frustration, anger and fear, as well as clear explanation of the day-to-day difficulties of living with this rare disease, the coping strategies, and the thread running throughout of how best to prepare her children for the worst.
Whenever I feel that diabetes is a burden, that I don?t deserve it and I fret about the future, my thoughts return to this book and I thank my lucky stars ? and hope too that I never hear such an awful diagnosis, for it is not beyond possibility.
Rowing without Oars