Breaking Free

Breaking Free

My great grandmother had her leg buried ahead of her because of diabetes, and the same culprit robbed me of many wonderful years I would have spent with my grandma. I was only 13 years old when my grandma succumbed to diabetes and I wasn't even able to attend her funeral. I have vivid memories of her. She used to come over to the city where my parents and siblings live once in two or three years, and those days were few.

Oh how she loved good food! I dreamed of some day visiting her in the province and spending time with her, just following her around the kitchen, asking silly questions while watching her concoct some exotic palate teasers. I dreamed of treating her to a special restaurant that serves her favorite but forbidden food - roast pork. I remember how she used to send someone to buy her half a pound of her favorite food and eating it in secret with me, while everyone - especially my Dad - was taking an afternoon siesta. The next day would be disastrous - she would be rushed to the hospital owing to another stroke attack and as my Dad shakes his head at the sight of another set of medical bills, she would wink at me.I remained a loyal guardians of that secret until the day of her demise.

Miraculously, she always managed to survive the mild strokes. Yet, when a mosquito bite became infected and refused to heal, my grandmother's high and adventurous spirit began to lose the battle. What started as a harmless insect bite progressed into a gangrene and all I gathered were bits of info as my parents speak about her condition in a hush hush manner.

Her doctor recommended amputation, and her children convinced her to have it done, but my grandma refused. She would leave the world intact, and months of pondering on her situation prepared her to face "what's next".

She died at the young age of 62, a vibrant woman who taught me to go beyond the norm and get the best out of life. Because of her, I learned to break a few rules and get away with it with a wink and a grin.

This blog is a tribute to her.

With these fingers that she used to hold, with this mind that she used to influence, I aim to reach out to those who are suffering of the same fate and need support and help them break free from their bondage.

It's about time to put a brake to diabetes. And that time is now.

The Future of Diabetes

Exciting New Discovery!

Professor Andy Sewell of Cardiff University 

The Medical Sector is abuzz with the latest news! Scientists claim to have uncovered a new evidence which is hoped to eventually help diagnose and prevent type 1 diabetes.

Professor Andy Sewell of Cardiff University an expert in human T-cells, reports to have witnessed T-cells destroying insulin-producing cells. 

During a recent experiment, Prof Sewell, along with diabetes experts from King's College, isolated a T-cell froma patient with type-1 diabetes and watched for the first time the process of destroying insulin-producing cells by T-cells.. 

"This is a breakthrough and tells us where we can now focus in the future," Professor Sewell was heard speaking on BBC Radio Wales.

This is indeed a breakthrough since most people who have type 1Diabetes already have it long before they are diagnosed of it.

"Type one diabetes is a result of the body's own immune system attacking and destroying the cells in the pancreas that manufactures the hormone insulin," he said.

"The mechanism by which the body attacks its own insulin producing cells in the pancreas is not fully understood".

"Insulin controls blood sugar levels and a lack of insulin is fatal if untreated.

"Our findings show how killer T-cells might play an important role in autoimmune disease like diabetes and we've secured the first ever glimpse of the mechanism by which killer T-cells can attack our own body cells to cause disease."

Professor Mark Peakman from the National Institute for Health Research at King's College, London said that seeing killer T-cells make contact with cells that make insulin is a very enlightening sight, and that it increases mankind's understanding of how type 1 diabetes may arise.

According to him, this knowledge can be used in the future to help the medical field predict who are likely to get the disease and to develop new ways to prevent it. 

If the disease is caught before it has made much damage to the insulin-producing cells as a result of this experiment, it is an important breakthrough indeed.