With the help of the Diabetes Association of Barbados (DAB) the parents of diabetic children started a support group. This commenced in 2010 and members chose the fourth Saturday of each month for their meetings, starting at 4:00p.m. Much of everything is still coordinated by the leadership of DAB. The group gets bigger as more children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
It is rewarding for parents to come together as there is a lot to learn. Usually at the end of the meeting we feel relieved and many of our misconceptions are corrected. We all found out, for example, that the initial diagnosis of the child with diabetes is very devastating to parents. One actually related that he had spent sometime with a hurting leg and was walking uneasily but when he learnt the bad news of the child’s illness he automatically started to run. He ran breathlessly to his parents to tell them. When my 8 year old daughter fell sick in 2007 I blamed my husband and wondered what type of medical doctor he was, not to know earlier that our daughter was diabetic. Anyway, when we come together in our meetings, we share all these experiences and realize that we are not alone in the first place. Get rid of the guilt and also stop blaming everyone else for the sickness of the child.
As regards the day to day management of diabetes, one parent narrated that when his daughter goes to inject herself, he too injects himself (with no insulin of course). This actually moved me a lot; it shows great parental love and commitment. I too became more lenient and loving towards my daughter. Generally speaking, these parents are very loving and many fathers are taking the lead.
We also come together and talk about issues affecting our children. Of late we have been discussing ways and means of sensitizing more of the education personnel about the plight of our children. Again, in a bid to educate the public more about diabetes Type 1, one parent together with an official from the DAB was recently a guest on CBC’s, “Good Morning Barbados” Programme.
All in all it is mainly a learning experience and getting to know about the latest technology in the management of Diabetes, for instance, regular injections, the pen, the pump, different types of glucometers and all that. Some of these parents really surf the net! We also get to know the appropriate diet for diabetics, sugar levels, salt, fats and what is most nutritious.
When we come together we get to interact with other people of interest like parents whose children are adults and also diabetic children now teens/adults. One of these is a 22 year old beautiful professional nurse, full of life, confidence and has high future aspirations. This is a source of inspiration for us.
As I come to the end I thank the leadership of DAB for the creation of the group and coordinating it. I also thank the following for being there for my daughter: the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, staff of Winston Scott Polyclinic, Dr. Anne St. John her physician, the community of her former school Lawrence T. Gay Memorial and Harrison College community.
by Winifred Lwegaba