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It took what felt like a heart attack for Jeldee Trahair to truly take diabetes seriously.
“I was driving home from work one night… I felt a fullness in the bottom of my throat and a slight pain in my chest,” she said.
A trip to the Bendigo Health emergency department revealed extremely high blood pressure was to blame.
Mrs Trahair, 62, was suffering from years of prioritising her career over her health.
She had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes some time prior to her health scare, but medication had stabilised the condition.
“Life just continued on,” she said.
She worked long hours and relied mostly on convenience foods to keep her going.
“During my overnight stay in hospital I thought, this is another wake-up call,” Mrs Trahair said.
“I don’t want to be 60 years old and having to take all this medication, or live my life how I wanted to.
“I had beautiful grandchildren I wanted to spend time with, and I must say most of my weekends, the thing I looked forward to most was having a two hour nap on Saturday or Sunday afternoon – or maybe both.
“That’s how I was – just work and sleep.”
She resolved to lose weight, a factor her doctor had been charting and had warned her was an issue.
In the three years since that fateful night in hospital, Mrs Trahair has lost 30 kilograms and re-built her life around healthy food, exercise, and spending quality time with her friends and loved ones.
Most importantly, she is no longer being treated for diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and is often triggered by being inactive or carrying excess weight around the abdomen.
Diabetes Victoria said the condition tends to run in families.
“It is not uncommon to have high cholesterol and high blood pressure as well,” a spokesperson said.
Mrs Trahair said she disregarded her risk of diabetes for years, despite her doctor’s warnings, because she had no family history of the disease.
She had the following advice for people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: “If it’s lifestyle-related, you need to know the seriousness of the disease. It’s like a domino effect.”
Diabetes increases a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, loss of vision and loss of limb.
Although she is feeling healthier than ever, Mrs Trahair is ever vigilant about her well-being.
She consults her doctor regularly and credits her continued involvement with Jenny Craig for keeping her on track.
“There is always a salad ready to go in my fridge,” Mrs Trahair said.
She is semi-retired, teaching three days a week and otherwise busy with family and friends.
JOHN Perryman has been living with diabetes for 60 years, and will receive a Kellion Victory Medal during National Diabetes Week to mark the achievement.
The Kangaroo Flat resident is the first one to admit it hasn’t been easy.
His health affected his schooling and career.
Mr Perryman was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 14, in an era when blood sugar testing meant frequent urine samples.
“It was too hard to go to school – I had to leave,” he said.
He got his high school proficiency certificate and left for a job as an apprentice motor mechanic, which set him up for 15 years of work.
After that, Mr Perryman was a truck driver, transporting fuel throughout the region.
But he said he had to stop after legislation was introduced concerning drivers dependent on insulin and transporting explosive substances.
He got a job with a spare parts dealership, then worked as a handyman before retiring aged 67.
These days the balancing act of managing type 1 diabetes is made easier by the technology available.
“It just means constant blood testing and I usually have four injections a day of insulin,” Mr Perryman said.
Not enough activity, and his blood sugars will be too high – too much, and they’ll drop dangerously low.
Despite the challenges, Mr Perryman has lived a full and active life.
He played sports in his youth and is a member of the Men’s Shed in Long Gully.
He and wife and carer Loris are members of the Probus Club of Kangaroo Flat.
“The carer is hellishly important – I’ve depended on her a lot to help me,” Mr Perryman said.
The couple have three children and four grandchildren.
Speaking of family, Mr Perryman is one of four children. Two of his brothers have diabetes.
“I’m the only type 1 – the others are type 2,” he said.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body destroys insulin producing cells in the pancreas, crippling its ability to process blood sugars.
The condition is unrelated to lifestyle factors and cannot be prevented.
Mr Perryman said his mother noticed something was up with him because of how sickly he seemed as a teen.
“I was very skinny and thirsty all the time,” Mr Perryman said.
He said he would bring jugs of water to bed with him and rarely had a night of unbroken sleep.
“I was in a pretty bad way, really,” Mr Perryman said.
Twenty-three of this year’s 66 Kellion Victory Medal recipients have had diabetes for 60 years.
Ten recipients were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes more than 70 years ago.
If you are concerned about your risk of diabetes, consult your doctor or call the Diabetes Victoria info line on 1300 136 588.