#938live

I do hope it's for th better.

I was invited to be th voice of all type one here in Singapore along with My Dr. We have been planing this for months and i do hope that it reach out to people on how we feel & what problems we face. I was happy & touched by it & nearly cried at th very end of th interview. Without diabetes, i won't even have this chance to talk or be the voice of anything. Being in both radio & magaz, it's really a very big experience for me. 

1. When did the symptoms of your illness begin to show?

About a year ago.

2. How did the symptoms affect your everyday life?

Sometimes I do feel that I’m different from other kids my age. People get disgusted when I do my pricks or jabs. Whenever I eat, people would be like “You sure u can eat this?”, or I get left out when it comes to food too. I always get the “you so young only got diabetes already” I get rejected a lot by people who don’t understands and some thinks that it’s easy to handle cause it’s just needles only. When I starts the trial with the pump, many people stared at me. They have no idea what type 1 is. It’s different from type 2.

3. What did you and your parents do to attempt to address the issue?

At first, my parents started controlling what I eat and drink. They don’t understand much about it or even how I feel. They told me not to tell people about me having diabetes at first because they are scared of how people might treat me. Cause I did go home and cry about it to my family. But now they are proud of me having it as I’m just like other kids but living with diabetes, I learn to cope with it.

4. When you were diagnosed with insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes, how did you feel?

I was okay with it. I find myself interesting. So I did some research on diabetes. Slowly, diabetic problems started happening. Then I would blame my parents about it. why me? Why am I here? I hated it at first. Being look down on. Being controlled. Rejected by people. My self-esteem dropped a lot at first, my health got poor. But slowly, I started accepting it, cause it’s me. Part of who I am. It’s tough but, it changes the way I see life from a different perspective and have become more mature than other kids my age. I am more health conscious, I have learnt so much more about food, and carbs counting. I know who my friends are, who would be there for me. I’m thankful for them. I know I’m not alone. I know other kids with type 1 diabetes would feel the same way as we go through stuff other kids don’t have to go through. We are sometimes stronger than others because of our invisible battle! We’re a survival. I interact with many just like me. Here in Singapore and overseas too. Even My teacher, Mr Ang, My Doctor, Dr Ben and nurses from changi helped me through this journey with diabetes. I do not think of diabetes as something to be looked down upon, instead I feel special. At times, I do want to be normal, but why be normal when you can be different? So to everyone who is struggling with diabetes, don’t hide who you are. You cannot change the situation, so the only thing you can do is to change the way you deal with the situation. I hope that we will all be able to control diabetes and not let diabetes control us!

5. Dr Ben Ng says that you are now “free” to eat whatever you like. How did your diet change after you have been diagnosed and undergoing treatment?

It never actually really change, I still take what I like to eat but I do get nag sometimes by my parents as I’m always eating unhealthy food but I will look up for those food with low crabs when I shop for grocery.

6. What do you do to manage your illness differently now that you have been properly diagnosed?

I exercise, going for runs, walks or climbing of stairs. I do push-ups and sit-up at home too. But what I learn, it’s having a positive attitude without that, when negative attitude takes over, doing exercise with a negative mind, it won’t help at all. I put my feelings on my Tumblr page, or write them in my personal diary that has inspirational and motivational quotes to keep me going.

7. Is there a change in your energy level and your day-to-day activities now that you have been properly diagnosed and are undergoing treatment?

I became more active and positive.

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