21
KIT
emergency. I was in intensive care for
two days and then in a ward for two
days before I was let out."
Tough calls
So, Hewlett is on his own in Sydney
and Claire had been at Brisbane
airport waiting for him to arrive
when she got a call. It was someone
from the hospital asking, "Are you the
next of kin for Robert Hewlett?"
Hewlett continues, "Claire ended
up getting on a plane to Sydney. I
remember the sound of somebody
coming down the hallway in flip flops
and it turned out to be her. The flight
itself was about eight hours or so. I
always think that must have been the
worst time for her. Meanwhile, back
at home, my mum knew Dr Hilary
Jones who used to be on the TV a
fair bit back then. I didn't know then,
but he has a son with Type 1 diabetes
who is now also a doctor. My mum
asked him what's going to happen
and he said, 'it could go either way -
best case scenario it will be up in bed
having a cup of tea'.
"While I have some gaps in my
memory, I know that I started to
feel better for the first time in ages.
When I did manage a phone call
with my mother I was actually in bed
having a cup of tea!"
After four days he left hospital to
travel back to Brisbane with Claire.
He says, "I left hospital with a pouch
containing an insulin pen branded
Novo Nordisk. It was a blue zip up
thing, I also had a blood test meter
which is a big chunky thing in the
same bag. He recalls, "The biggest
issue I had before they would let
me out was that I had to be capable
of injecting myself. I thought I was
needle phobic. A nurse came with a
meal and we discussed how much
insulin I needed to inject to cover the
food. She had a kidney dish with an
injection and insulin in it. I had to do
it while she watched. But if the bell
rang at the nurses station she had to
pick the lot up and take it away and
go and sort that out before returning,
so it went on a while. My dinner was
cold by the time I injected into my
thigh. It turned out I need a phobia
went away when I realised if I didn't
inject insulin I would die. I just got
on with it. And yes, I practised by
injecting into an orange."
Hewlett also did a form
of DAFNE*. Says Hewlett, "I
remember someone saying, 'this is a
carbohydrate,' and I said, 'a what?' I
learned simple things like a slice of
toast is 15g of carbohydrate. That was
my base unit from that point on. By
now we were also getting a better
understanding about blood glucose
highs and lows as I was having my
first hypos."
Homeward bound?
At this point Hewlett and his
girlfriend had to make a decision -
do they go back home? Hewlett says,
"She let me decide and I thought, 'OK
I have Type 1 diabetes I'll still have
it at home, if I get a job I'll still have
Type 1 diabetes; as we're here already,
let's just carry on.
"We sorted out picking up the
van, which we called Shrek because
it was a martini olive green with
pink bits on the side that look like
ears. We had to make sure to go to
campgrounds that had freezers so
we could freeze ice blocks overnight
for us to transport insulin during the
day.
"We did seven months more in
Australia then went to New Zealand
for 10 months. There I worked in a
dry food factory packing peanuts
and cashews. I was lifting big bags
of nuts and eating handfuls of them
as I went along. It's probably the
only time I could be defined as being
'buff'!
"Claire is a primary school
teacher so we did become part of
the community. As we both had jobs
we were able to rent somewhere.
The local pharmacy got to know me
and it was through that store that I
first met another person with Type 1
diabetes. It helped organise a group
called Type Ones Together. A local,
retired professor of diabetes who we
called 'the Gandalf of diabetes' was
involved. Basically it was just a room
full of people with diabetes talking.
That was really great."
The travelling did come to an end.
"We came back via Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Hong Kong and Thailand,"
recalls Hewlett, "I had cards printed
up in each language saying that
I had Type 1 diabetes. I felt safe
enough travelling and Claire also was
prepared in case I had a hypos. The
biggest worry was carrying needles
and syringes in countries that were
very hard on illegal drugs in case
"I remember
someone
saying, 'this is a
carbohydrate,' and
I said, 'a what?'
- Rob Hewlett