Family members, friends, parents, carers of someone who has diabetes and might be
worried about their loved one omitting insulin, what are the kind of things that
people can be thinking about? So first of all I think that there worries probably
appropriate, I think that's right that
they if they are worried about their child and they've got enough evidence to
think that there not Iooking after diabetes they're probably right but what we need
to do is help them think how to manage that worry in a way that is constructive
they need to think about what it must be like for their child so how do you
convert your own worry into something that's useful the child if you're
worrying the likelihood is that your child is worrying too. Those friends and
family are actually aware they're actually worrying so it's not like they
won't be surprised. You're worried about all your children but you have
additional worries when you've got a kid who's got type 1 diabetes I think
Lindsay just got sick to death of me always having something to say and a bit of
of advice I think I was just seen as being a nag. So what you do is say to the
child it sounds like I wonder if you're worried about your diabetes, turn it
around. Don't say I am really worried about your diabetes or I'm
really worried about you because that just won't work what you need to do is
say perhaps you're worried about your diabetes perhaps you're thinking I don't
care you know perhaps you thinking that nobody cares perhaps you're feeling
alone with it parents aren't given a manual on how to bring up children doing
we do it in our own haphazard way yeah and mostly get it mostly about right but
if you've got a child with diabetes you definitely don't have a manual so
they're in a real dilemma and I think parents really also need a lot of
support it's just a case of the parent isn't living yeah even though it
probably feels like they are sometimes we would have phone conversations while
I was away at school she'd ask me about my blood sugar and I change the subject
right there were so many other things going on in my life
I wanted to tell her about that I didn't want to talk about that. I
don't want to be the first thing. She told me all through university that she
was sorting things out with the diabetes team. You kind of know as a parent it's not
the whole truth she told me how bloods were perfectly well controlled and
she was making up numbers I was just so good at lying yeah really good at lying
you might be pulling the wool of the doctors eyes and your family's eyes and
your friends eyes but you've also said constantly you wish there was somebody
there saying well I disagree with you or I don't believe you or I can see you're
struggling you know is there anything get in the way so I suppose if your mom
had said something similar was that is there anything get in the way of you
looking after your diabetes what could she do to stand up for you when you're
not standing up for yourself? Even if mum had just asked me to maybe if she
if I wanted to have to help me work out my carbs or anything like
that because I wasn't really carb counting, I don't think she knew that at the
time yeah but someone taking the pressure of that. Yeah I could have taken a bit of
the strain off, yes, maybe we could have sorted something out
whereby I did the numbers for a bit even from a distance what your saying is
that your mom and dad could have sort of stepped in a bit look at the more
practical aspects of a like shared it with you yeah and I say I think that is
exactly where my life is at the moment because I'm very very open about everything
related diabetes and so having everyone I care about involved in this
conversation yes makes it easier but it also kind of keeps me going because I
know that if I let things slip they'll notice yeah there are actually people
that could be quite helpful I think especially friends because you don't
really want always trying to separate from your parents aren't you yeah some
of my friends are amazing goes back to their confidence yes yeah if I speak to
someone about this they're not gonna yeah and around and literally as if I'm
completely mad I said there are more people out there that will understand
you respect you and want to help you oh you know that we had always here and
we're always ready to talk I know there's those moments when
you don't feel 100% happy and things are still a struggle I'm hoping now that
now you've told me what's going on that you'll now be able to pick up the phone
and you've got me and Dad and the family and we all appreciate what's been
happening and what you've been going through.