A young mum has had to overcome her own struggles with Type 1 diabetes.
Marie Dalton lives in Perth and became a mother to baby Amelia-Lilly 12 weeks ago.
The 23 year old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 11 but admits she was in complete denial of her condition for years. She ate and drank whatever she wanted and struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis.
It was only when she hit 19 that she began to take control. She started checking her blood sugars more regularly and now has four injections of insulin a day.
Desperate to have a baby, she realised she needed to manage her condition better. A diabetes nurse introduced her to a glucometer, so she could put her blood readings in daily and work out how much insulin to take.
Marie found her pregnancy hard, juggling cravings for chocolate and cake and having hypos at night, and her difficulties persisted when Amelia-Lilly was born five weeks early via emergency C-section.
Marie suffered serious health problems, including pneumonia and high blood pressure set in. She was on morphine and two sets of antibiotics.
Amelia-Lilly was jaundiced after birth but both she and Marie have made a full recovery and the proud mum insists the struggles – made easier with the assistance of www.diabetes.co.uk, a global diabetes community which offers free online support – were all worthwhile.
“My dream of becoming a mum has come true – diabetes tried to make it difficult but I came out the winner,”says Marie. “My mantra is ‘Diabetes, live with it or die by it’.”
