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Diabetes held me back, the IDF-AFRICA advocacy camp in Ethiopia opened my eyes to a brighter future

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Written by Ankunda "Karen" Blessing

I have been living with type 1 diabetes for a year now in Uganda. I was diagnosed on July 31st 2018 and the shock from that moment froze us. I did not  fully understand what diabetes was. I just thought managing it was a matter of eliminating sugar in my diet, taking medications and I'd be good to go! Alas, that wasn’t the case. It was not that simple. I was actually wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but lucky for me, it was corrected in a short time.


Testing my blood sugar levels at work


There after, a cousin of mine interacted with me and said she knows a friend who is a type 1 diabetic, and she introduced me to Edith Mukantwari and we talked in detail about diabetes. Being a nutritionist and diabetes educator, she really helped me understand a lot and I felt a lot more at ease knowing someone else out there had the same condition as mine. She proceeded to add me to the Africa Diabetes Alliance WhatsApp support group and she was literally a call away each time I needed someone to talk to. I also felt comfortable sharing with a fellow patient compared to the doctors.

To cut the long story short, an opportunity came up to go to the IDF-Africa advocacy camp in Ethiopia and Edith recommended me. Ridiculously I hesitated to go, mostly because I was worried about being away from home. You see, since my diagnosis, I had not travelled at all and I'd made a comfortable routine that was my safe space and I was afraid to depart from it. I was also really worried about whether I'd be fully taken care of especially in case I got any hypoglycaemia episodes. I realised quickly that diabetes was actually controlling me! I was living in fear so I did not want to go out with my friends, socialise, or do anything I used to enjoy. I just wanted to stick to my routine which by the way I came up with [the doctor did not give me the routine]. The opportunity was really interesting and such an exciting prospect, but I was so scared to go, even when I wanted to.

Edith did not give up on me, she convinced me and finally I agreed to go. I still do not know why me of all people but I think she saw that at that point in life I needed it the most. We arrived at the camp and they were representatives from all over Africa for example Sudan, Rwanda, Botswana, Zimbabwe to mention but a few. The entire camp organisation was amazing; we were warmly welcomed and well taken care of in all aspects. There was a nurse 24/7, facilitators were very educative and flexible. I felt so safe an I learnt a lot personally being a new member of the type 1 family such as how to treat hypoglycaemia and how to live with diabetes overall.

At the IDF-Africa Advocacy Camp

All the tiny details were addressed right from why it is important to know carbohydrate counting since everything we eat affects our blood sugars, we were advised to exercise because it increases our insulin sensitivity and good for general health like the heart, plus how to deal with mental health issues like diabetes distress. Sessions were interactive which helped me improve on my communication skills, we were also given guide lines on how to advocate for this cause as young leaders living with type 1 diabetes. Facilitation on pitching, communication and proposal writing was given which are all essential skills in advocacy. This opportunity was a real eye opener for me. I really understood why Edith insists that we read and learn about type 1 diabetes and how it affects our bodies. I also appreciated the training to be an advocate and a young leader in diabetes. Diabetes does not discriminate and we as patients are an underutilised resource in the fight against diabetes.

We also had a chance to have fun. We got to tour the Ethiopian museum, Market place and to taste their wonderful traditional dishes.

The tour
Over all it was a fun educative camp and I do not regret attending. In fact, if more opportunities come up, I hope many more young leaders in diabetes will express interest to be trained because the desire to create change has to be a personal decision. I am so thankful to the Uganda Diabetes Association (UDA) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF-AFRICA TEAM) for making it happen. I am also very appreciative of Edith for not just recommending me but convincing me to go. I am a trained diabetes advocate now, no longer living in fear and it was a much needed experience like no other. And to my type 1 family, thank you for the emotional and peer support, and for coming together to create a brighter future for children and adults living with diabetes. We are stronger than diabetes. We are certainly stronger together. Let's keep disarming diabetes daily.

Comments

  1. Ambassador Tinotenda Dzikiti17 December 2019 at 15:16

    Really amazing. Your blog is quite inspiring. Please keep sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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