Cheree says thanks to Diabetes Awareness Week

integratedliving client Cheree Walmsley was taken aback when she was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She was worried what the diagnosis meant for her ongoing health and what she needed to do to stay well.

Cheree is just like the 280 Australians who develop some form of diabetes each day.

It was Diabetes Awareness Week in July which aims to highlight the importance of early detection of diabetes.

Research shows that people are living for an average of seven years with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes which can cause significant subsequent health issues.

Related health conditions for those with diabetes include blindness, kidney and heart disease, stroke and lower limb issues including amputation.

It was these other potential health problems that particularly concerned Cheree when she was diagnosed.

“Before being diagnosed, I knew that being diabetic meant other health problems could be made worse so I wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to stay healthy”, Cheree said.

Being from the NSW regional town of Merriwa, Cheree found that there wasn’t a lot of information available to her around diabetes.

“This is where integratedliving helped me. The Diabetes and Foot Wellness program was exactly what I needed”, Cheree said.

“My doctor was very supportive but his help was much more medical and I don’t have the internet to find out information that way."

The Diabetes & Foot Wellness program really helped me with how to manage my diabetes day-to-day and that sort of help wasn’t available anywhere else in Merriwa.

"I have learned to eat better by adjusting my portion sizes. I have also made some great friends and I go walking with some of the people I met at the diabetes program.

I am very thankful for what integratedliving has done for me. I was shocked when I was diagnosed. The ladies who ran the program were so helpful and caring. I just can’t thank them enough,” said Cheree.