WHEN Natalie Tasses, of Cecil Hills, was a child she would sit at birthday parties watching the other children indulge in fairy bread and cordial, knowing she could not enjoy the same sugary treats.
At age4 she was diagnosed with type1 diabetes, a lifelong auto-immune disease. ``I'm grateful I got it at such a young age, because it wasn't a transition for me,'' said Natalie, now 29. ``It's made me more aware of my body, much more receptive of the signals.''
Mrs Tasses has to keep her blood glucose levels at a normal level, which is no simple task. With a constant supply of insulin injections and at least four daily blood-sugar tests, she has to live life by a strict timetable. ``There are no sleep-ins,'' she said. ``I have to wake up, inject and have something to eat. If friends want to go out for a late dinner, well, I just have to eat beforehand.''
If she doesn't, things can take a turn for the worse.
``I've been hospitalised a number of times when my sugar's dropped too low. Luckily my husband knows the signs if I'm asleep but before him I remember crawling down the stairs because I couldn't walk. Now I keep a bottle of Lucozade next to my bed.''
More than 1800 Australians are diagnosed with type1 diabetes each year. It should not be confused with type2 diabetes, often caused by unhealthy lifestyle habits.
For people like Natalie, who has two grandmothers with the disease, it is hereditary.
Mrs Tasses, her family and friends will be walking in the Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sunday, October17 at Parramatta Park.
Her aim is to help the 40,000 other Australians who will be walking in events across the country to raise $2million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Details, donations via Natalie: tinyurl.com/nataliewalk.
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