Transcript
Speaker: Hey, before we get into today's episode, I wanted to take a moment to thank our gold sponsor, Omnipod. The Type 1 Club is all about sharing real stories, creating connections and helping families feel less alone as they navigate life with Type 1.
Speaker: Support from organisations like Omnipod help us to continue these conversations and bring more stories from the Type 1 community to you. So thank you to Omnipod for supporting the Type 1 Club and helping us to keep these important conversations going.
Speaker: Thank you, Omnipod. The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Speaker: Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk. Welcome to the Type 1 Club.
Speaker: Whether you're a parent grappling with a new diagnosis, a caregiver seeking guidance, or simply someone wanting to learn more about Type 1 diabetes, this podcast is for you.
Speaker: Together, let's dispel myths, break down barriers, and build a community of understanding and resilience. Join us as we embark on this journey together because with knowledge, compassion and support, no one should ever feel alone in managing type 1 diabetes.
Speaker: Welcome to the Type 1 Club.
Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Type 1 Club podcast. I'm your host, Jacqui Kidman. I am a type 1 mum to a boy named Harvey who was diagnosed in June 2022 the age of seven.
Speaker: I might sound a lot more professional right now because I'm actually in a podcasting studio with Melissa Hall, but we'll call her Mel for this because she's not in trouble, but that's her professional name. I'm at her content studio in Pakenham, which is very, very exciting. So I would love to introduce you to Melissa Hall, but I also have her husband, Mick Hall, who is joining us for a little bit of a bit of a bonus kind of sidekick episode. I hope so.
Speaker: But Mel, I'm so grateful that you've given me the time today to come onto the podcast. Also to you, Mick, as well. Thank you very much. So welcome. Thanks for having us, Jackie. thank you.
Speaker: This has been a bit of a, like a work in progress. We've been talking about this for, well. Two years. Two years. That's all. That's all. We've only been running for two years. So Mel, can you please start by introducing yourself and sharing who you are in the type one world? Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, so I was diagnosed 28 years ago. I was 12 years old. It was in that era of no social media. I was still on full injections. I had to prick my finger to see what my sugar levels were. And yeah, it was really hard for me because being a 12 year old coming into puberty and high school and I hated i hated it and i really hated the diagnosis and I knew no one either. Right. And do you remember being diagnosed very clearly? 12, I would think you would. Yeah. No, I did. So my dad, I had never in my life seen my dad cry. like he grew up on a farm with four boys, very tough man.
Speaker: And that was the first time i'd seen him cry. And that's when I was getting into the car and they taking me straight to the hospital because the GP had diagnosed it. Right. So do you remember why you went to the GP? Can you take take us back a little bit? so I feel like it all happened within a week, but really it happened over months. And I just gradually started getting thirstier and thirstier and going to the toilet. It ended up being like nearly every 20 minutes and people were noticing. We went to church.
Speaker: I remember we had pizza and... Coke one night and it just would have, it that would have absolutely set me off. By this stage, I ended up losing a lot of weight. Like I, I think mum and dad thought I had a bit of anorexia because I wasn't eating.
Speaker: and as you know, you just, you don't be like eating. You're just so thirsty. You cannot quench this thirst. And mum and dad took me to Sizzla the next day. Oh, used to love Sizzla. How good was it? Parmesan Oh my God.
Speaker: How good was the bread? So they thought, oh. All you can eat. Let's get bit Let's get bit Let's get bit up. Let's get bit up. And I just went straight to that all you can drink soft serve station and just kept having the red raspberry.
Speaker: And next day i was just so sick. Mum's like, something's not right. Well, actually the final straw was we went grocery shopping. So I've got two younger sisters.
Speaker: We went grocery shopping. And on the way back, I just remember mum had bought this two litre orange juice. And I screamed at mum pull over. So she pulled over on the highway and when she, I literally sculled the two litre as a 12 year old on the side of the highway. i just, I, I can't explain it. It was horrible. It was horrible. And mum goes, we're going straight to the doctor, did a wee, like weed in the jar and,
Speaker: Cause you're like, when they go, do you think you can wee in the jar? Oh yeah. As a 12 year old, right? um That was so weird. I'd never done that before. And yeah, they, the doctor called mom and dad back in. So there was a a couple of hours and then when dad came home, he was crying and I actually called them back in without you? Without me. They said, don't bring her in. oh And I actually thought I had cancer. yeah I had no idea.
Speaker: Yeah, no idea. And they just said, you've got to pack a bag. And I just thought it would be for overnight. And mum goes, no, Pat, you're going to be in there a bit longer. Oh, gosh. It was horrible.
Speaker: So are hang on, I'm just trying to calculate your siblings. So are you one of seven? No, how many no, two younger sisters. Two younger sisters. My dad's got a lot of ah brother brothers. Sorry. so I was like, hang on, you've got now you've got four older. like i was like, sorry. Okay, that's fine.
Speaker: Yeah, two younger sisters. And I remember they in the house at the time too. And my sister actually always says, she's we're very, very close. And she always thought um we could no longer go the milk bar and get lollies together. So that was her trauma. That was her grieving. As a 10-year-old, what are we going to do? She's like,
Speaker: I never low wings again. So was the hospital close by? it was 20 minutes. Okay. And then you get to the hospital. Yes. Go through the emergency process. and Were you in there for, you remember how long you were in there for? Yeah. So I, it was so unlucky. i was at Nambour on the Sunshine Coast. It's a great hospital. but it was really bad timing. I had got there, my sugars were over 40. Like it, I think it gets capped at 40. Yeah. And the ones that are in the hospital, they just read high. High. Yeah. And on there yeah, I think it's was, yeah, it was definitely over 40 the doctors were like, she's about to, you I was a bit limp, I guess. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Like probably facing coma. Ketones? Far beyond. yeah Off the chart. And anyway, I was in emergency for overnight.
Speaker: And then yeah I remember mum staying with me. port they didn't have she didn't have a bed or anything. So she literally was asleep down the end of my feet. It was horrible. And then the only diabetes educator on the Sunshine Coast, like, because it wasn't known back then, just went away on a two-week annual leave.
Speaker: So I was in Nambour Hospital for two weeks. Until she came back? Yeah. um In the kids, yeah, in the children's ward. And not able to learn what to do? Not really, know no. No. So the first, it took a good week for them, for the doctors to allow me to inject myself. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: But they wouldn't let me go until I really had education with her. Okay. Wow. it was And it was a long time. i remember I was really over being in there. Yeah. Wow. It was really bad timing.
Speaker: Oh, gosh. Isn't it? But that would never happen now. but No. No, you would hope not. But still in some, like, remote areas. Yeah, that is true. I guess there is, you know, there's still those issues where there isn't even, you know, diabetes educated might only come in on certain days or things like that. So you went in kind of escaped that? No, we definitely escaped that. Yeah. And I remember actually about five days in, I might have my timing wrong, but five days into the hospital visit, dad just really wanted to fatten me up because I was just gaunt looking and he brought me in a cheeseburger from McDonald's and I was so excited. And the nurses came in and tested. I'll never forget I was 23. My sugars went to 23.
Speaker: that's when it really clicked. Oh, wow, this is serious. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't understand insulin brought me down and all of that.
Speaker: Yeah, well, I mean, it is, I mean, still people, you know, even in my family, i don't know if it's the same with you, you're like, so what's he need? Like if his levels are high, what does he need insulin or does he need, you know, like it's still sugar, if you know, like it's sort of like if he's high, insulin's required. If he's low, you know, he needs the sugar. Like it's just trying to, but until you live it and do it, you don't need to really know that, guess. It's its own language. Type 1 diabetes has its own language. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah We do talk about that. you We're all speaking French and... yes So were you about to go into high school or were you already in high school? No, I was in year six. So I was a year off high school. So I could imagine that time everything is heightened, it like being a ah young girl and then all of a sudden you're having to inject, finger prick, do all that. Yes. I mean, I know a little bit about your teenage years. So yeah.
Speaker: I'm just so grateful I'm still here. Yeah. yeah you know Yeah. Mel's proof that, you know, stuff can go south, but yeah you know, you can still live a full life after your teenage years. I'm not in that yet. So I'm a bit nervous about that. The teenage years and the drinking years, I'm always picking people's brains about that. Harvey has got such an addictive personality and I'm lucky that he's very, very sporty and very active. Yes. But I could also see that he could go the other way with the drinking side of things. It's always like a blowout because it's such an intense life. It's twenty four seven And i just remember when I did i did drink, very much ba behind mum and dad's back. And it just felt like
Speaker: total release and i loved it yeah and it was so naughty and I didn't care and it needs to be addressed. I think. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why I do, I try it. Some people are not open to share it around because they sort of say, i don't want to advocate drinking, but at the same time I feel as parents, we, or and as diabetics, like, you know, you're being told like, oh, you just shouldn't drink. But now you've got kids that 16, 17, having a couple of drinks Yeah. I mean, if we were in Europe, that wouldn't be a problem. That would be like, it's like, yeah, yeah. You know, but in the culture is no, but it does happen. So we need to be, I'm like be upfront about it. Yes. But how do we support?
Speaker: people who are having a few drinks, but to make it a bit safer for them. And where, yeah, where do you get that knowledge if no one's willing to share That's right. Because, you know, so anyway, we digress. Did you have to come home and were you open about sharing it with your friends or were you still quite secretive? Oh, you were quite secretive. So secretive. Like I would, if I had a hypo, I would go to my bag and eat the lollies out of my bag. I never wanted anyone to see me eat. That was weird. I don't know why. I was just embarrassed because like i was shaking. Like I had really bad lows too during, I remember through primary school and high school and I was always just, yeah, bit out of body. like
Speaker: And I just remember... I don't know. I just, I think I really needed probably counseling or therapy over the diagnosis that not to be ashamed of it. I was just so, yeah, so embarrassed the girl with the needles and I'd already just come out of some pretty traumatic bullying with the girls as well. Like really pre diagnos diagnosis. Right. And to the point,
Speaker: I have said this on my Instagram. I think it caused my type one. Because the stress? So stressed. I wouldn't go to school. Yeah. And I got the really bad flu. but i was just so run down and sick.
Speaker: Yep. Perfect storm. I felt it was a perfect storm, but I'd love to know why we're diagnosed. I know. and Is anyone in your family? No one. No one. No link. No link. And we probably could only go back really two or three generations anyway, because the life expectancy, I guess, of two or three generations ago was a lot less.
Speaker: We wouldn't even know if people in our background had. Well, they wouldn't have survived. They wouldn't have survived it because they would just have had probably an early kind of um life expectancy anyway. have traumatic death. Yeah, I know. Awful. So I'm so sorry about but no i like, that that's just such an awful experience for anybody to go through. And as well, yeah, is it the stress that caused then the flu? There's obviously some pre-deceit, pre-preciation. Disposed. Yeah, yeah. something You know, reason of why we type one occurs. And if there's no, like, if you can't find a direct link, sometimes you do wonder, you know, where does it where has this come from? So I'm too slow to do my maths backwards. What what year were you diagnosed? 1997. So the 90s. Yeah. 90s. Yeah. Okay. 90s. The So crazy. Yeah. I think I finished high school in 1997. Oh. You just go through work. Then you can try and do the maths on how old I am. Yeah, Mix age. You're 1979 baby? eighty
Speaker: 80. Oh, hes same as Scott, my husband. Okay. So talk to me about these teenage years. Goodness. Yeah. So I went to a public high school of 2000 students. I literally at the time for, i think the first four years was the only one with type one diabetes.
Speaker: So my face was literally plastered up. There was, cause the school was so big, it was divided into four sub schools. everyone had an office. It was a huge campus and any office you went into, there was my face with Oh, I kind of, but just.
Speaker: Because back in the, back in the nineties, there was a couple of kids that had asthma. Yes. Yeah. No one had allergies. No one had allergies, right? Now i used to work in early childhood. Yes. so the office used to be a wall filled with these faces of these children that have all these different allergies or asthma. Very rarely did we have, I think we might've had one type one diabetic child across my 20 years in early childhood. Yeah. But that's whether these parents are willing to let their child come to an early childhood setting. That You know, that sort of stuff if they're a little child. Whereas now it's quite, it is required because people need to work. and Oh, so you were the only one that, you know, the poster girl basically. The poster girl. The poster girl. So, yeah, and then...
Speaker: had to test my sugars, there was no technology. Yeah. So you did the finger prick. Finger prick. Did you have the chemistry set kind of finger prick? No, I was a little bit more advanced than that. when i Yeah. I had just come into the smaller one. And yeah I do remember the doctors always saying, you're so lucky that you get the smaller blood glucose monitor. Okay. Not that big giant thing. But you had to draw out yes insulin from the vial with a normal ring syringe. yeah So you had to work that out.
Speaker: Yes. And so i didn't. ah Like i was always forever guessing. yeah And I always remember in high school, I would feel exhausted after lunch. I'd always eat a salad sandwich. Mum would always give me a salad sandwich. And I obviously just, I feared going low at school more than high. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: So I'd always underdose just, again, because I was embarrassed and I was exhausted. i always remember thinking after lunch, I just wish I could go to the sickbay and just have a sleep. I always wanted to have a sleep after lunch. And do you think that's because your sugars were high? Absolutely. But I never knew because I refused to test. I went my whole, it was always gut feel.
Speaker: And then when I did think I was doing something great, like sugar wise and I'd test and I was 16, for example, because you sort of get used to high sugars over a period of time.
Speaker: and then it really was the CGM. Like I originally started off on the Libre and that's when I had full acceptance of my type one. So this is after the three kids, after I'd had three kids. Wow. It really took me over 20 to Yeah, to finally go, it's not me. I've done everything right. I'm hormonal or I'm stressed. And it's not just food that affects your sugar levels.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely. But I didn't know that. And the doctors would never tell me that. There was nothing online. Yeah. It's just been a full, I've had to learn all this on my own. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing, like, I know we kind of, sometimes there's an element of negativity around technology, social media, that sort of stuff. But for a lot of people, this is how they are actually communicating with, yeah, like for like, of like, ah, that's how you do that. Or yeah, I'm not alone in this. Whereas if, for example, you just, you said you're the only person in your school yeah for For five odd years, you're the only type one yeah that you knew of um everyone's saying, oh, I ate too much sugar because I was a little bit chubby as a little girl. A little bit. I was a little bit chubby. And, yeah, my family, like not my, but, yeah, the outer family was like you fed her too much sugar. My mum and dad owned an ice cream shop. Oh, just it went on and on, right? that They caused the diabetes. oh Yeah, mum and dad copped a lot of sugar.
Speaker: crap right Wow. Yeah. But I think there's also still a little bit of that stigma. absolutely. And that's why I think we're so passionate about sharing this stuff is because we kind of go, look, this is not, this is an autoimmune disease and this is not because we've eaten too much sugar yeah or we've done something wrong.
Speaker: wrong. yeah My kids never went to a GP. The only time, like yeah I just actually had to take my oldest child to the GP and they said, oh, a new patient. And I was like, no, no, but maybe we've been archived. And the doctor looked it up and she said, oh yeah, you you haven't been here since 2019. Oh, that is awesome. And I used to pride myself on that. I was the one that used to cook everything from scratch, yeah like lots of organic food, all that sort of stuff. And then I felt like when Harvey was diagnosed, I thought,
Speaker: What did do wrong? I was putting it back on myself of how did I miss this? What did I, you know, until you learn that you didn't do nothing, nothing wrong. No one did anything wrong. It just, it's just shit luck. It's shit luck. It's not even pot luck. It's shit luck. It is shit luck. You just wouldn't wish it on anyone. So let's talk a little bit about, I want you to share, I already know this part, about when you did go and see your endocrinologist because you were in, you were in denial about your, about your type one. Yes.
Speaker: And what you used to do. oh I was an naughty girl. So was a very smart girl. I was very smart. I got a very, i ended up getting a great grade after year 12 and, but yeah, I would sit there and I'd fill out my sugar diary the night before.
Speaker: and you know, I'd throw in a 23 every now and then 16 here, but it was like beautiful sugars. Yeah. And, but my A1C was over 12.
Speaker: The math wasn't nothing ever. How long was your A1C like over, do you reckon? So you diagnosed at 12? Pretty much my whole. You reckon for 20? Over 10 for 20 years.
Speaker: Yeah. over ten for twenty years Definitely. Absolutely. yeah Yeah. I think that's, I'm not saying like, like well done, but I also think that it's so real, right? Because the other night we had a type one mum's dinner and then Harvey went to his mate's house for a birthday party. And then I could see that he'd obviously, he was really good while he was active and stuff and eat, know, and he dosed and he tried. And um came home and then could just see like his sugars just went up to high. And then I just was like, said to this other mum, oh, Harvey's had been to a party, you know, then her son, he was newly diagnosed and she said, it is so nice to see that number because you think you're the only, what you see online or what you are told, you should be seeing this beautiful straight line. No, you're not because you're type 1 diabetic. So you're never going to see that beautiful straight line. Unless you are like very rarely, I should say, maybe not never, yeah you know, and that's why I think when we sometimes do celebrate those days that they're, you know, we're 90% in range. Oh, I will always post it. and That's never gloating because we all know. Because you're like awesome. Yeah. Because that's also not easy.
Speaker: and I think we've also laughed about how you're always in range when you're asleep. Yeah, it's always. Yeah, I wake up at six foot, like now with the Omnipod and the Dexcom, I wake up perfect. I've got that nailed. But during the day, something stressful happens. Up she blows. So you mentioned Omnipod and you've also mentioned a bit of the CGMs that have helped you to make that switch yeah of the realisation of, okay, I need to maybe look at something. A lot of people would think maybe having babies would make you think that, but but and we will talk about that, but you thought the technology, for whatever reason, this is Post babies.
Speaker: Yeah. So I did go on a pump with Savannah, i my third, and she was my best A1C. So I got that down very quickly. I think it was about 8.5 when I fell pregnant with her and I yeah got down to 6.3, I think on the Medtronic pump.
Speaker: I think I was still physically testing my sugars with... her. I was. Doing fingerprints as well. yeah Yeah. The Libre came out after Savannah.
Speaker: Right. And how old is Savannah? Remind me. So Savannah's now 10. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Interesting. So I still can't believe I got my A1C down that quick with her. Yeah.
Speaker: But I was a bit, oh, I just don't encourage it. Like if anyone's like, well, I'll just have a baby and hope it all works out like Mel. I, I don't encourage it, but I'm very honest about it. I was always told you, you've got to pretty much have great sugars for a good year before you even try and have a baby. and you can't really tell me what to do.
Speaker: But also, like, that you can't tell me what to do. so I'm just going to have a baby. I don't care what my sugar... Mick's nodding. Like, you know, like, yeah, you're right. ah Look, I have heard that doctors have said to women who are type 1 never have an unplanned pregnancy. but Which is...
Speaker: No, well, that's sensible. That actually is sensible. That's duty of care. Yeah. Yes. That's the right thing to do. But, yeah, no, all three just, yeah, they weren't planned and my A1C was definitely over eight with all of them, probably more in the nines.
Speaker: But I just, the second I fell pregnant with all three of them, just bar in the belly, I'm going to get that A1C down. And I did. Yep. But then the second they were born, i was back to...
Speaker: Diabetes doesn't exist. Okay. Oh, that's interesting. So it was almost like you had that psychology of have someone else to look up took after now. It's not about me. It's about them. yeah And then when it comes back to the self-care for you you just dropped the ball. Oh, done. yeah I'd done my time. Like yeah I've got him here, earth side, but Christian, the middle one, he was like 11 pounds. 11 pounds. I'll never forget when he was, so I really try to go natural with Harrison, you know, as you do. And he was just too big. He wasn't coming.
Speaker: So emergency Caesar with him, but with Christian it was so nice to go in for a planned Caesar. I just would recommend that any day of the week. Anyway, we go in and I just remember, do you remember this, Mick, the gasps of that when he came out. And I just thought, oh, they think he's so, because I wasn't awake when Harry was born. you knocked out. That was the story. Oh, goodness. Yeah, but Christian came out and ah you just hear the,
Speaker: I think they said it was a toddler. I go, that's a toddler. Like, I think I was mortified. He was huge. Like huge as in like roly-poly, like chubby. He was puffy, yeah. He was just a big pup. Like he was already I think when they're born it's triple zero. He was straight to double zero and he didn't even last long in that. It was zero, wasn't he? Like they didn't have nappies because he had to go to the prem. He was 38 weeks too, so he's early 11 pounds. Wow.
Speaker: Oh, geez, it felt good to have him out of my butt belly though. It's so big, carrying him around. man. Oh, my goodness. So talk to me about your journey of technology and introducing that. At what point did you kind of go okay, I want to try this? Or is it that you're being told, okay, this has come out, you need to go on that now?
Speaker: It was definitely around COVID. so i was home with the three kids and a lot of the online stuff started ramping up. so i think I was seeing some influences more, not influence, like, yeah, over in America, but it wasn't subsidised over here. I think we were paying $700 a month for the Libre. $700 a month? Yeah. Yeah. I'm pretty confident it was $700 a month when it first came out, that Libre, Libre 2. Yeah.
Speaker: Anyway, I went to Mick and he just said, Mick's just, it doesn't matter. Like, just we'll do whatever we can to pay for that. Mick's just always been this silent.
Speaker: He's perfect for me. He's just been that silent push. He's got away and he goes, just do it. Just do it. We'll find a way. And The second I put it on and after probably that first week, I think if you even go back through my Instagram right to that very first post, that's when I started my type one page. Cause I'm like, oh my goodness, it's not me. It's diabetes. This for this is hard. yeah But yeah because I've always been such a high achiever and I just could never get it right. That's why i hated it. Like, cause I just didn't understand it So prior to that, you were doing just finger pricks whenever you would hardly, but yes. pretty rare because you you just, don't know, you sort of, um I mean, you're obviously guessing, but you had a feel for what you needed to do. And it was, ever if she went low and high, which happened more often than it would today, she'd then prick and take action. but Okay. She'd just play within that, the the four to 16 zone, I suppose you'd call it.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. 23. Being generous. He's being generous. That was nice. Thank you. okay and We're going to stop this episode right there and we're going to bring you a part two with a bit more from Mick. So Mick's going to share a little bit about what it's like being a partner to someone who's a type 1 diabetic. It's a really beautiful story and i really hope you like it. So thank you so much for tuning into this fortnight's episode of the Type 1 Club and I look forward to bringing you part two in a couple of weeks.
Speaker: Thank you for tuning in to the Type 1 Club podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained some valuable insights. If you like what you heard, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on all the platforms so you never miss an episode.
Speaker: We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a rating and review. This really helps us reach more listeners just like yourselves. For more updates, behind-the-scenes content, and to join the conversation further, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, The Type 1 Foundation, or visit our website, type1foundation.com.au.
