News stories

A Good Hope patient has received the commemorative ‘Alan Nabarro’ medal from Diabetes UK in recognition of 50 years of managing her condition. 

Georgina Macenzie, or Joy as she is known, 63, was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 at 11 years old after starting secondary school. She began losing weight despite eating and drinking and felt lethargic. Getting a diabetes diagnosis 50 years ago was more difficult than today and Joy’s blood tests from the doctor initially came back clear. 

Joy, from Castle Vale, said: “I was back and forth to the doctors feeling unwell, but it was only after I collapsed at home and fell into a diabetic coma that I finally got the diagnosis. I spent two weeks in hospital and then was taught how to do my daily insulin injections. The main thing I was told about was hypos (diabetic hypoglycemia) which is low blood sugar. They said to have a couple of biscuits if I felt shaky or sweaty. 

“When I went back to school, I found things difficult as there was much less awareness of diabetes then. You could only check your glucose levels through your urine, and blood sugar levels were only tested at hospital appointments. With two injections a day, I had to be rigid about carb intake throughout the day. Having to think about and measure what I ate at such a young age was tough.” 

Thankfully, things have changed drastically in the last 50 years and especially in the last 12 months as Joy has begun using an insulin pump. This is a small electronic device that releases the regular insulin your body needs so you no longer need daily injections. Joy also now wears a Dexcom – an automatic blood glucose monitor placed on her arm connected to an app on her phone which logs all her health data. 

Mum-of-two Joy said: “The recent advances in technology have been life changing for me. I want others to know that if you receive a diabetes type 1 diagnosis, you can still do anything! Just eat mindfully, always carry provisions just in case, access all the support available to you, and listen to your specialist nurses, dieticians and consultants at your diabetic clinic. Mine have been an invaluable source of advice for me. I love photography and have trekked through jungles, climbed mountains, been to places like Borneo and Java, been charged by a wild elephant, and broken my leg at the top of an active volcano. I have had so many adventures – and my diabetes has never stopped me!” 

Anna-Marie Jesson, diabetes specialist nurse, said: “Our aim is for patients to have a long, healthy and fulfilling life, and live with diabetes, not have diabetes control their life. Type 1 diabetes relies on insulin injections or infusion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and insulin was only discovered in 1922 – so Joy has been using insulin for half the time it’s been available! She’s seen so many positive changes, and we look forward to even more developments in the next 50 years.”