Nicole Borg

What are the chances that last week at school Alyssia got a T1D friend, in her class too! She was the only one, but just for the last term (he's in grade 6) they get to support each other.

I'm not raising funds for just my family. But for people years into their journey, for the ones who are yet to be diagnosed and for the new Type One soldiers like the boy from school.

I can't go into too many details about him but after a brief chat with his mum she had told me he had just defeated leukaemia. Shocked and absolutely devastated for him, I didn't know what to say, and then given another battle to fight? No one deserves to have T1D let alone a kid who has had enough already.

The funds raised go to the JDRF Australia who are leading the fight to support people with T1D and fund most of the research in finding a cure. If you don't know someone with Type 1 Diabetes then I assure you one day you will. It doesn't discriminate there doesn't have to be a family history.

On a mission to help my partner Mathew (diagnosed at 26) better manage his own Type 1 diabetes, I (Nicole) stumbled across the Type1screen.

I didn't hesitate to quickly register our daughters Alyssia (10) & Chelsea (5). 

I had my suspicions about Alyssia, so when we received a phone call from the Type1screen team I wasn't surprised. She has tested positive for the antibodies responsible for making someone a diabetic. 

On the 16th of March bloods were taken and glucose test was done to confirm her levels.

Later that day she ate cake, got tired and my curiosity made me get her dad's blood glucose metre.

I checked her 4 times. Made her wash her hands after the first reading. 4 times it read above 17.0.

On the 18th of March she was clinically diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic at the Children's Hospital.

We couldn't be more thankful to Professor John Wentworth (who met with us in the Emergency at the RCH) and the Type1screen team for the amazing work they are doing. As upsetting as it was to find out Alyssia was a Type 1 just like her dad, we are extremely happy it happened the way it did. The whole Type1screen process, the care, the communication and again thanks to Type1screen Alyssia presented to the hospital as a healthy happy kid. It was so early in her T1D journey that most diagnosis start off in ICU, so for that we are honoured to have found Type1screen.

Moving forward I have arranged for Chelsea to be screened every 6 months. There is nothing negative to say about the experience we've had. Chelsea would say different though when her next collection comes in the mail but knowing her future is better than not knowing at all.

I'm going to talk about me in this blog post. You should know by now Alyssia, my daughter and Mathew my partner (Alyssia's dad) are both Type 1 Diabetics. 

They have their daily struggles and I commend them for their battle that is with them for life. I surely wouldn't want to be in their situation.

But being their everyday for them, has it's own struggles too.

When we came home from hospital with Alyssia the first two weeks I don't think I slept. Fearing she'd have a hypo in her sleep and not wake up.

There is a term being 'hypo aware'. Mat wakes me up at least 3 times a week to zombie run (a slow run, a fast sleep walk kind of shuffle) so get him some Nutella, chocolate milk, whatever. So he's hypo aware when he's asleep. With Alyssia I don't know if she is and I still don't. I don't like her going to bed anything under 8 in fear that the sensor is wrong, we don't hear the alarm, she's knocked out her sensor....... So many things. She's got to the point now that when her alarm goes off for high in the middle of the night she just pushes buttons to make it stop. I have to check it's the high alarm and not a low.

We've since got her a mobile phone with an app linked to her sensor. Both Mat and I have the viewing version of it and we get a constant viewing of her BSLs. It's funny when the alarm is going off on all 3 phones at the same time. We can't ignore them now haha.

I try my best to give Alyssia the right Insulin to Carb ratio but that is a balance I'm yet to get right. Until the hospital make sure I've completed all the 'flexible Boulsing' modules and trust that I have an understanding that's when we will go on the year long wait list for the insulin pump because without the funding they are $8-$10 thousand.

Mat knows how to correct his sugar levels so it's a little frustrating when the hospital put all the burden into me with these things. They've also told me off for having her sugar high at night time and suggested I speak to a help group. It's upsetting because I'm trying the best I can to keep her healthy and safe.

I try the best I can to ensure Mat is doing the right thing to himself too but I've been told 'he's a grown man, he can look after himself'. 

Mat is on the opposite side of the scale TD1 wise. He is usually always high because he doesn't care what he eats or drinks. 

Ketones are his Mate. Ketoacidosis is something I learnt when an ambulance rushed him off to hospital once and he almost died. That was all pre Alyssia's diagnosis so everything Mat has gone through is something Alyssia benefits from because I've got the knowledge.

Little Chelsea isn't out of the woods yet. I get her tested every 6 months for the antibodies. Somewhere between 7-10 years old Alyssias body was making her a TD1. Chelsea is only 5 and I'm absolutely terrified she'd be the same. I mean the chances are slightly higher now. I can't get Chelsea to have a bath let alone give her multiple finger pricks a day, 4 insulin injections and every two weeks attach a glucose sensor to her arm. 

But I'm just going to hope (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) that doesn't happen.

For the moment the bad moods, the sad moods, the lack of energy all because of Alyssia's and Mathew's blood sugar levels are stressful enough.

I understand if some days they don't want to eat healthy or not stick themselves with anything for once.

As much as I'd love a break looking after my Type 1 family, they never get a break so neither do I.

Daily in our household Mat and Alyssia have to manage their insulin, blood glucose levels, food intake and so many other factors that come from living with TD1.

If only there were a cure. 

One day we really wish that there are zero people living with TD1 and that's why we are doing this fundraising walk because together we can make a difference.

There is no discrimination against who could be diagnosed with the disease. There are 8 Australians diagnosed daily, but with your help we can hope that in the future that number is zero.