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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-09-12, Page 49Lt, re, features and enterta Coping with diabetes Serving over 24,00.0 homes.in Listowel., Wingham, Mount Forest, Milverton, Arisa, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallensteln, Wellesley and West Montrose. Wednesday, September 19, 1984. Hoping for a normal life by Kim Dadson JAMIE 'RICHMOND—measures insulin into'a needle, one of two which he must take dailyto control his diabetes. Although he must' inject himself twice a day Friends recently teased Sebastian Plein with some sweet snacks, the kind Sebastian's mother won't allow him to eat. "They're no good for you," Sebastian told his friends with disdain. "They make your body work harder." Wise words, foga toddler but this Elmira youngster has had some grow= ing up to do in the past year, and at times his maturity exceeds his three young years. Sebastian is diabetic; "My pancreas is broke," he explains. He starts every morning with a needle, an injection of insulin. Sebastian is only three and he often starts the day with tears too, but his ability to accept what is, can prolr ably be contributed to parents who con- cern themselves with the emotional as 'well as the physical aspects of the dis- ease in someone so young. One morning he told his mother, "Well, I've had my one shot and I'm good for the whole day!" Diabetes used to be an automatic death sentence, before insulin was dis- covered. •Today, • a diabetic can look forward to a normal life as long as he or she maintains the delicate balance of insulin and diet. , As Sebastian so accurately states, the diabetic's pancreas is indeed, "broke". In a nondiabetic, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin which helps break down carbohydrates so the body can use them for energy. So as the - nondiabetic eats carbohydrates, insulin is ejected from the pancreas to meet the intake. In a diabetic, too little insulin or none at a1Tis releasedbye pancreas. So the - carbohydrates,. or sugar accumulates in the body building up.in the blood and Sidling over into the urine. -,.,,,, ,al,, Betio ;takes ' insuljn, and then '�tl list eat he -pre -per amount of carbo -- hydrates to meet the insulin shot. "You feedthe insulin," says Kathie Plein. If not enough carbohydrates are eaten, then a diabetic runs the danger of insul- in shock, the reason one often nears 'of diabetic travelling with candy or some- thing high in sugar to eat in an emer- gency. The opposite, too much sugar, can result in a diabetic coma. Diet isn't the only factor that can affect the balance. Too much exercise call' burn too many carbohydrates and the diabetic needs sugar. And when the sugar . is too high, more exercise can sometimes burn it off, rather than the diabetic needing to 'take a needle im- mediately. Stress can make even a non - diabetic's sugar go up. Although it sounds like a tenuous and watch what and how much he eats, Jamie doesn't balance, teen diabetics Pam Beard and Jamie Richmond,. stress that the disease is no big deal. It is something feel diabetes alters his life drastically. they live with; "I'm not into a lot of sugar." She assumed that a high intake paranoia about diabetes," says Jamie, of sugar could cause diabetes, not 17 and entering his final year at Elmira understanding how carbohydrates are District Secondary School this fall. converted to sugar in the body. "The real trick to managing diabetes For two years her diabetes was con - is regularity. The necessity of regu- trolled by diet alone. She then took pills larity is the worst part. You shouldn't and for the past ten years she has taken be spontaneous." - two needles a day, the same as Pam While Jamie must eat certain foods in and Jamie. Sebastian is on one needle a certain amounts during a day while his day but that could change. Two needles teen friends can skip meals or eat what allow better control as the insulin is they wish, he adds that diabetes time released and doesn't always fit in "Doesn't seem to alter my life enough with meal times. to list any major complaints." Because it is difficult for some people As Pam points out, many diabetics to get to Kitchener, Dorothy decided a are in better shape than non -diabetics local group could better serve the over 20 association members in Elmira. Getting the ball rolling is something Dorothy did two years ago when she initiated a foot clinic. For the elderly or diabetics who must take care of their feet as a precaution against gangrene, she makes appointments with a podiatrist for a group and arranges transportation through local vol- unteers. because they eat such well balanced meals and must watch their intake of sweets. While it would be difficult to in- clude a pizza in her diet at 9 p.m., she says it is easy just to say she is on a diet as so many 18 year olds are anyway. But her diabetes is not something she tries to hide. In fact, she believes there are enough people who try to make the disease look bad. "Diabe` s is mis- understood enough. Why bore or fright- en people with it? Diabetes is not that big of a deal. It all sterns from attitude. You must accept it, take a needle or die. I have my days when I want to throw it out a window, but I would pay a high price." It's an attitude Pam has learned over the years. When first diagnosed five years ago, (the same time as Jamie) she broke down, in tears -believing diabetes was fatal. Pam will enter Emmanuel Bible Col- lege in Kitchener this fall and hopes to SEBASTIAN PLEIN—sits on his mother's knee while enjoying a popsicle. He holds his diabetic teddy which receives a needle each day, like Sebas- As a result of the diabetes, Dorothy has lost the nerve endings in her feet and cannot tend to her own feet. A diabetic's healing process is slow_and the feet are one area that need special care, as do the eyes and kidneys. Dorothy will be holding . the first Elmira Chapter of the Canadian Dia- betes Association meeting' on Sep- tember 25 at 8 p.m. at the Woolwich Community Information Centre, down- stairs. Everyone, diabetic, and friend or relative of a diabetic is welcome. The meetings will be regular, the last Tues - eventually ,teach young people in a day of every second month. Speakers Christian school. Sherwin be living in -a _ will-include-Shirley..Proctot,.head of_the dorm while at school and her specialist parent's group in Kitchener, Sharon cautioned that it will .mean having to Kalbfleisch who runs a diabetic store watch her diet onher own but the inde- and°Wilfred Preszcatoa, vice-president pendence -was encouraged by Papi's of the: Canadian Diabetic Association of 'mother. ' Kitchener -Waterloo. Independence has always been en Dora Fleet celebrated heraOth,birth- couraged and diabetics are taught to be day last month and she was also ding - responsible for themselves. "There was nosed as diabetic. Her increased thirst no orange for practice (giving a needle indicated to her that something was to), Jamie 'laughs. ``The nurse did it one day and I've done it ever since." • wrong and she had already cut out Sebastian'smother gives him his .f sweets before the doctor diagnosed her needle (while Sebastian gives his di- problem. Like other diabetics, Mrs. Fleet has to - bloodteddy a needle and also does the found the diet foods on the market to - b blood tests, pricking the finger tip, on day have made it much easier to enjoy his mother). Kathie Plein says the a varied menu. Rather than a needle, nurses allowed her to practise on them with a salt solution. pMrs. ills. Fleet's diabetes iss-controlled with In the year since Sebastian was diag- • nosed, Kathie says she and her husband A diabetic's insulin is not covered by Walter have come a long way. They OHIP. Kathie Plein says a diabetic have learned to relax and be flexible easily spends $50 to $60 a month on with Sebastian's diet: It was an adjust- essentials. Then the shopping cart in - mint. If she is going out, she has to cludes. sugar -free food which often costs figure how long she will be and take a more. snack for Sebastian if necessary. Pam believes that within her gener- A parents' group at Kitchener -Water- ation, there will be a better answer to loo Hospital has been very helpful to the diabetes, perhaps a cure. It certainly Plein's. "Just to phone another parent isn't the dread disease that it was once helps." considered,and diabetics can look for - An Elmira chapter of the Canadian ward to normal lives. Diabetes Association will be'starting But for youngsters like Sebastian and thfs-month, under the tutelege of for a new baby cousin of his who came Dorothy Tagieff, a diabetic for 25 years. home from the hospital on insulin, . a When diagnosed at age 40, Dorothy's cure and an end to the daily needle first reaction was, 'I don't even like would be welcome. tian. Kathie Plein says her son's diabetes is an accepted part of the family routine now PAM BEARD—is a nor- mal, active, enthusiastic teen who has put together her own puppet show, cal- led Puppets with a Pur- pose, and she performs at many church functions. She leads a normal life -- and she is diabetic.