• Aboriginal People and Diabetes
• Aboriginal Booklet of Hope
• Stories of Hope

Edith Willoway-living with type 2 diabetes

I was first diagnosed (with diabetes) in my very early thirties. It was a shock at the beginning and like anything else you just ignore it. I didn’t know a lot about diabetes at all and I ignored it.
My good friend, she was a Nurse, said how selfish I was being because I had a son to bring up and she said if you don’t start taking care of yourself who’s going to look after him. So that sort of gave me a bit of a jolt and made me realize that if I didn’t do something about looking after myself, nobody else will - so that sort of made a difference in my life.


Tre Austin-Family history of type 2 diabetes

The first thing that comes into my head when I hear the word diabetes is that you have something that you are not suppose to have, your sugar levels go up and if you don’t know what foods to eat and that you have diabetes you could die from it. It could also make you very, very sick instead of you dying. I reckon someone with diabetes would feel yuck on the inside and don’t seem to look that healthy.
Some of my friends are scared from it (diabetes), when they get older they think they might get it (diabetes) because of the foods they eat at school. Some of them are trying hard not to get it (diabetes). Some of my friends actually get their food from their mum, health foods, instead of fat foods. Some of my other friends don’t really care.


Audrey Nettle-Living with type 2 diabetes

Before I was diagnosed, I was feeling sick I was feeling really horrible and I went and had the test (oral glucose tolerance test). I should have had it (the test) two years ago. I didn’t change my eating and I got sicker and sicker. When he (the doctor) told me he (the doctor) said, it’s not a life sentence, you can live a normal life you just have to change your eating habits and more exercise.
I thought about mum who was in her late 50s when she became a diabetic. I saw mum lead a pretty normal life. She was really good – when she use to make a stew I remember she would leave it over night as mum use to say there is a lot of fat in there (letting the fat set on top to take off the next day).

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