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"I
felt like a plague victim. Alone. Gone were the days of sugar, take-aways, fast
food, and a passion for chocolate."
Colin is 55 years old and
lives in Bucknall with his wife and son. His hobbies include waterways and music.
My
story is about how I found out I was diabetic and how my wife and I cope with
the day to day issues of living with diabetes. I hope through telling my story
to raise awareness of managing the condition and possibly help others do the same. It's
funny how you remember things...looking up at my drips in hospital with the price
on, on holiday in the Loire Valley. I'd
been admitted with an infection in my arm. Little did I realise how this was to
change my life forever. During
the night a nurse told me that I had sugar in my wee wee. My
heart sank. I
understood. My
mum had died recently through kidney failure caused by diabetes. After
we'd cancelled the holiday and raced back home it was confirmed that I was a Type
2 diabetic. Overweight and over forty. I
felt like a plague victim. Alone. Gone were the days of sugar, take-aways, fast
food, and a passion for chocolate. My
wife cleared the fridge and cupboards out, getting rid of all the sugary and fatty
foods. I
thought 'right, I've got to live with this. Be positive. Think of Steve Redgrave,
rowing for gold and he's a diabetic.' OK,
I've had to lose weight, take medication, eat a healthy diet, know my numbers
exercise. I only have my treats: chocolate that is, very occasionally. So what.
I can live with that. Even though as a chef, it's not always easy! There's
no cure for diabetes, but you can manage it. You have to. I've seen and heard
what happens when you don't and there's some real horror stories. I'm
passionate now about making people aware of diabetes - how you can look out for
it, how you can manage it. There
is hope for a cure. I hope it's within my lifetime.
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