WHEN Kyabram’s Debra Ayres was told at nine years of age that she had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, her first thought was, “what the heck is type 1 diabetes?”
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Fifty-four years and thousands of injections later, rest assured she well and truly knows the ins and outs of the chronic condition.
And as an acknowledgement of all the blood, sweat and insulin shed by Debra since she was a nine-year-old in 1966, Diabetes Australia recently awarded her the Kellion Victory Medal.
The Kellion Victory Medal is presented to people who have lived with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for 50 years or more.
For Debra, the award is tangible proof that if you try hard enough, you don’t have to be defined by your condition.
“All those times when you think you can’t do something, it just goes to show that you can,” she said.
“If you look after yourself and do what you’re supposed to, you get through these things.
“It’s something that will never go away, but it’s manageable and treatable. A lot of other things aren’t.”
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition in which the immune system is activated to destroy the cells in the pancreas which produce insulin.
There is no cure and it cannot be prevented.
One hundred years ago, diabetes was more or less a death sentence.
But since then, diabetes management and education has seen continuing advancement — much of which Debra has experienced first-hand.
Over the years, she has been ordered to inject herself with insulin four times a day, before moving to an insulin pump in 2008, then to a continuous glucose monitor six months ago.
Debra said it was hard enough for herself and parents Joy and Les to wrap their heads around the then-relatively unknown condition, but on top of that, they were given the news at the worst possible time.
“I had a hole in the heart operation, and six weeks later I was diagnosed with diabetes,” she said.
“They do say type 1 diabetes can be caused by a virus; they have said it could have been the shock of the operation that triggered it. It’s still not totally proven.”
It was a difficult and strange time for the young family.
“They would bring in an orange and a syringe and get you to practice. How that helps when you have to shove it into your own leg, I’m not sure,” Debra said.
“I remember the nurse saying ‘come on dear, it just needs to go in a bit further’… and back then they were glass syringes and quite long, not like today where you’ve got disposable ones that are a centimetre or two long.”
Debra credits her parents for helping her develop a consistent routine, as well as setting her up for a life where she wouldn’t miss out on the fundamentals.
“I often say to people that getting through my teenage years was probably more than good luck than good management, although I do have Mum and Dad to thank for my attitude towards diabetes.
“They never treated me any different to my younger brother and sister and that was a good thing because I didn’t think I was special.
“I had to do the same things as everyone else. I had to do my chores every week, went to school and played sport the same as everyone else.
“I guess their encouragement to do all of that stuff was an integral part of it.”
As part of the Kellion Victory Medals Scheme, Debra's parents Joy and Les Jones were awarded the Kellion Carer's Award, designed to recognise many years of love, dedication and support.
Joy said she and Les were most proud of her daughter’s steely resolve, especially in the early years.
“She wasn’t happy about it at first, but she was a down-to-earth sort of kid. She just had to put up with it,” Joy said.
“We just took it day by day until it became a routine.
“She could do anything; it was just a matter of teaching her to do the right thing and speak to people if she needed help.”
Looking back on her life, Debra said she was proud of what she had achieved despite her condition.
She, alongside her late husband Kevin, operated their own bakery in Coffs Harbour in NSW for seven years, and raised two children, Kate and Tim.
“There are many more things much worse than diabetes, only you will restrict what you achieve in your life,” Debra said.
“If I wanted to do something, I would find a way.
“You’re only limited by your own outlook. It might have taken a bit more work but there was never anything I wasn’t able to do.
“It could have been much worse.”
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