“The initial diagnosis is the hardest. Your heart almost breaks as you wish you had it, not them. We didn’t sleep for two weeks when Emily was first diagnosed.”
Eight-year-old Emily, of Northam, has type 1 diabetes, a lifelong chronic disease that requires constant management and vigilance to keep blood glucose levels on target. It is a relentless disease, not just on individuals but also on families.
“You’ve got to try and push past the fear and get to the positive side of it,” mum Kathleen Noble said.
“Emily’s taken it on board like it’s just a part of her life. She’s the most courageous, strongest person I’ve ever met.
“Every day there’s new research and the more research that’s happening, the better type 1 diabetes is, the easier it is.”
Emily is just one of more than 1100 children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes in WA.
Each year, about 120 children are diagnosed with the disease in WA, though 2017 saw more than 150 new cases. 2018 is already on track to topple that figure.
The disease is triggered by the immune system attacking the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas and people affected by it require insulin therapy for life. Researchers do not fully understood why this happens, though it is believed to be caused by a combination of susceptible genes and an environmental “trigger”.
At present, there is no cure for type 1 diabetes and it cannot be prevented but it can currently be managed through insulin therapy, glucose monitoring, regular physical activity and a healthy, balanced diet.
Professor Liz Davis, co-director of the Children’s Diabetes Centre, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, said while a cure for type 1 diabetes remained the Holy Grail, researchers were focused on generating significant new knowledge that led to tangible improvements in care, now and into the future.
“Although type 1 diabetes is a challenging disease, management options continue to evolve thanks to research, allowing those with the condition to have full and active lives,” she said.
“Our research is aimed at reducing the burden of the disease so that children with diabetes can grow up to be become healthy adults free of life-shortening, diabetes-related complications.”
The Children’s Diabetes Centre is the only paediatric clinical diabetes Centre for Research Excellence in Australia.