LIVINGLIVING
MY DIABETES KIT
Diagnosed with
Type 1 diabetes on
his 33rd birthday,
Lee Calladine's life
changed totally on
that day. He not only lives with diabetes
but works in diabetes care as Educational
Event Co-ordinator for the Diabetes
Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF)
where he sometimes takes part, such as
the sky-dive on the front over. The DRWF
is a charity committed to raising funds for
research into a cure for Type 1 diabetes
but also for the purpose of education of
patients who have either Type 1 or Type
2 diabetes.
"It's different for everyone,"says
Calladine, "but I had a fast onset. Felt fine
then suddenly I had a sore throat and was
very thirsty. I was at my cousins and he
said, 'you're drinking like a fish, what's
wrong with you?' Two weeks later I was
in a worse state. I'd lost three stone, was
still thirsty and going to the loo all the
time. I was convinced I just had a virus
but a friend who is a nurse told me to get
to the doctors. He did a blood test and
said, 'that's clearly diabetes' and sent me
straight to the local hospital, the Queen
Alexandra in Portsmouth where I met the
diabetes team for the first time."
Calladine was given and meter and
some information, but looking back at it
he says, "This was 14 years ago. People
get a lot more information now than I did
then. I felt rather scared and more than a
little vulnerable. I was given a blood test
LEE CALLADINE
meter and did a lot of testing to start with.
But I wasn't told things like to shake the
insulin pen of long-acting insulin so that it
was properly mixed. Initially I was scared
to eat anything. It was hard."
Today, things are different. "Now I
get asked to help people who are newly
diagnosed and I can help them." Calladine
works full time at DRWF and has now
been there for ten years. He says, "I'd
just left my job in the hotel trade and went
to the local job centre, and Sarah Bone,
Chief Executive at DRWF, had just posted
the job 20 minutes earlier. I already had
a background in events management in
the hotel trade and prior to that I'd been
a chef. So it's all worked out quite nicely.
I love what I do and I've never looked
back."
Focus on the future
The charity sends out a newsletter,
arranges events and education days. He
explains, "We focus on raising funding for
medical research and a cure will come,
but in the meantime we have to look after
ourselves. Our strapline is, Staying Well
Until a Cure is Found, which says it all."
As for his diabetes kit, Calladine is still
on multiple daily injections (MDI) although
he's done a pump course at his local
hospital. "It was called Jigsaw and was
like an intensive DAFNE course. Our
meters were blue-toothed up on screen
and we shared and discussed our results
with the other people on the course. It
took place over a few days and included a
year of follow-up consultations. But I was
doing OK on MDI and felt there was no
need to go on the pump at that time. But
there's been progress on pumps since
then so I might reconsider."
And as for that new-fangled CGM
(continuous glucose monitoring), he's
tried that too. "I've had a few trials which
have been useful for greater insights as
to my control. I've not tried the FreeStyle
Libre yet, but I am going to and I can't
wait. It sounds like a brilliant back up for
when you're not in your normal routine
so it seems like a good idea to me, and
not that expensive, relatively speaking as
you'd use far fewer blood test strips and
lancets."
Daily back up
On a daily basis Calladine relies on two
things - his Desang Classic kitbag and
his Accu-Chek Expert blood test meter. "I
keep all my kit in my kitbag. I've had the
Expert meter about three years. It's been
great, especially for helping me figure
out corrective doses. My kitbag goes
everywhere with me, to work, out-andabout,
holidays, diabetes clinic and GP
appointments. I've recently had a spell in
hospital and had a few operations so I
used my meter and kitbag a lot."
The kitbag has become something
that the people around him understand
is part of his diabetes control. "All the
doctors and nurses knew what it was by
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