Sandy Bill

🦋 My Diabetes Story - Why I am walking…

My life changed when my first little boy who was 2 weeks short of his 2nd birthday was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. Sean had been unwell for some time… not eating, drinking milk like anything & peeing so very much - soaking a double nappy & his bed every night… it was insane! 

“At least it’s not leukaemia” the GP said …. that’s all I remembered him saying as he directed me to the emergency ward at the local rural hospital. 

It was a tough few years… managing a toddlers hypos, Sean hiding under the bed when it was needle time screaming ‘No mummy, no!’ … as well as a new baby who was hungry due to my milk drying up with stress ☹️

With time we all learned to live a life with a diabetic child… & managed it extremely well. We had wonderful friends who were by our sides during hospital stays and sick days… but there was never a day off… and never a break… always balancing food, insulin & activity…. And then there was the never ending fingerpricks, even at 2am.  

Kindy & Prep came around way too quickly & I suddenly had to rely on strangers to care for my fragile little boy. With much education, nerves, trust & prayer… we got through it… with many up & downs. Some of his teachers through school were awesome & wanted to know everything about diabetes, while others were very flippant & didn’t really understand the dangers of sick days. 

Thankfully as Sean got older, it wasn’t long until Sean took charge & management of his own diabetes 

We moved when Sean was 8 years old to Townsville… a much bigger place and somewhere we had Diabetic Clinics, other kids with diabetes & diabetic camps. We all learned so much more & could share our journey with like minded people. 

Even our other 2 boys got to spend time with other kids with diabetic siblings, compare notes & encouraged one another. 

When Sean was 13, his youngest brother Matthew who was 8, was also diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. We diagnosed Matt at home, recognising the symptoms - drinking a lot of water & peeing so very much. We gave him a fingerprick & his blood glucose level was high ☹️. After seeing our GP for a referral, we headed to the hospital & began again introducing Matt to the world of fingerpricks & needles…. Our world tilted again. 

Matt wasn’t really very sick when he was diagnosed & found it very difficult coming to terms with what had happened to him. Both diabetic boys were so very different & handled the situation very differently. 

Matthew had a tough few years with many trips to hospital & help from a wonderful play therapist, he got there. 

Our middle son doesn’t have diabetes… yet 😉 Despite our best efforts to always include Leighton in everything, we found out years later that he struggled with his own problems, not sharing them with us because we were already busy with more ‘serious’ issues - his 2 diabetic bros ☹️ We always made time for Leighton, but the very thing we tried so hard to avoid, happened anyway. We can’t beat ourselves up about this… it just sums up the caring & thoughtful boy Leighton was & still is. 

Today my 3 boys are wonderful men;

Sean is now 30, married & has 3 beautiful kids of his own. He manages his diabetes extremely well. He loves to swim & workout. He still uses pen insulin, not interested in being hooked up to a pump to be reminded he is diabetic. He feels the pen gives him more freedom. He does use Dexacom Continuous Glucose Monitor & appreciates the ease in which he can now grab his BGLs. 

Matt is 25 and also manages his diabetes extremely well. He unfortunately also has Coeliac disease - diagnosed when he was 11, & took many years to get a grip on not eating wheat. 

He has been using a pump since he was 13 & it made a huge difference in self-managing his diabetes - that & the Dexacom Continuous Glucose Monitor, which has meant no fingerpricks. 

Matt has been using an Omnipod for Insulin delivery for the past 18 months, which actually loops with the Dexacom & works like a mechanical pancreas (sort off). 

Leighton is 28 & still doesn’t have diabetes ….yet! We joke about the yet… but more adults are being diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes later in life… so you just don’t know. 

It is quite amazing to see how far technology has come over the last 28 years. Sean’s first glucometer took 2 mins to get a BG reading… now he checks the dexacom app on his phone for an instant reading. 

I’m walking for both my boys. My husband Jeremy, and our family have joined in with this walk too. We are ‘the Bill Family’

We want to see…. 

• technology improve even more 
• diabetic treatment & technology affordable & available for ALL type 1 Diabetics. 
• a cure for type 1 diabetes! 

You can help by donating a little to JDRF & help them make a cure a reality. 

Thank you 

Sandy 💕

I'm walking for a world without type 1 diabetes in Townsville!

I'm joining the world's largest type 1 diabetes (T1D) fundraising event for families at The Parade Ground in Townsville this March!

Why? To help raise $1.1 million for life-changing T1D research, and ultimately turn type 1 into type NONE. I'd love to see my boys Sean & Matt FREE of diabetes!

T1D can strike anyone at any time, and 8 Australians are diagnosed every day. Diagnosis means a 24/7 fight with no break, and facing an extra 180 decisions a day to remain safe and healthy. 

Please support my walk :)