Opinion

One of my Aunts from Trinidad passed away a few years ago, she died from a diabetic complication, but which mainly stemmed from a lack of knowledge and understanding in managing her condition.

One of my Aunts from Trinidad passed away a few years ago, she died from a diabetic complication, but which mainly stemmed from a lack of knowledge and understanding in managing her condition. Her HCPs assumed she knew what to do and also assumed that her family and friends knew what to do, sadly for me I only found out she had diabetes after she passed away

She wasnt told about what foods she should cut down on in her diet, she wasnt told how to recognise the advancement of the condition i.e. diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy etc. But when my father was diagnosed with diabetes I made sure he was well educated and that he understood the importance not only of his medication but the lifestyle changes required, as I was well informed from my experiences working with Novo Nordisk, Roche Diagnostics and Eli Lilly.

I know he takes adherence to lifestyle and medication seriously as he is now advising me to look after myself! But then again Dads always like to give advice.