Petronella Peach - One Unstoppable Woman!
(continued)
Nel discusses what she would say to a person who has just received a diabetes diagnosis
Nel takes responsibility for managing her diabetes to prevent complications
Nel was diagnosed unusually late - she was 42 when she began noticing her symptoms. She was working then as Director of Food Services at St. Mary's Hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia. She was thirsty, peeing all the time, had itchy skin, and lost six pounds in five days. She went to the doctor and said, "I think I have diabetes." Test results proved she was right. But she was misdiagnosed. The doctor was certain she was Type 2 because of her age. She told the doctor that she needed insulin. She continued to persist, and eventually he realized that she was right. She wasted no time in getting as much information as possible about her diagnosis, and in surrounding herself with a team of people who could help her live her best life.
When Nel received her diagnosis, she began her mass self-education and lifestyle change campaign, and is as active with it today. She knows that her health is too important to take for granted, so she decided to powerfully take on this condition in spite of its challenges. As part of her self-management regimen, she walks at least eight kilometres each day. She eats the same amount of carbohydrates for breakfast each day, for lunch each day, and for each dinner. For years she weighed everything, and now can calculate by sight.
Nel's quality of life has changed dramatically since switching to insulin pump therapy. Her husband Gordon recounts for some time the stories about Nel crashing to the ground when her sugar balance was off. They talk about how hugely different this is, how much less frequently this happens, since switching to 'the pump'. Nel's involvement in diabetes fundraising and advocacy would be much much different without the pump, she says, because before the pump, she just wasn't as well.
She stresses how important her 'health team' is to her ongoing energy. All kinds of support are required when one has diabetes, she says - medical, family, employer... She particularly acknowledges her pump nurse / trainer, and her husband for his support.
