Like so many with diabetes, David Fraser has to make an average 180 extra decisions every day.
To ensure his glucose levels remain stable, the 47-year-old civil engineer has to consider every meal, every snack, every activity and more.
That’s more than 1.6m extra decisions he’s had to make since being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 18.
Despite this, David counts himself lucky.
For three years he’s seen the CALHN Diabetes Service team, which has supported him to progress from multiple daily injections to insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
CGM means he no longer has to do regular finger pricks to check his sugar levels, while the insulin pump has been finely tuned to administer precise insulin doses.
David describes the diabetes service is a “one-stop shop” where he can see a multi-disciplinary team including endocrinologist, dietitian and specialist diabetes nurses.
“Within an hour I’ve seen everyone I need to see, rather than going to three separate locations,” he says.
“I have appointments every three months. In between that time, I can pick up the phone or drop an email (for advice).
“The level of care has been phenomenal.”
The diabetes team provide education and support to help people living with diabetes, and their families and carers, to manage the life-long disease and achieve the best health outcomes.
Diabetes nurse educator Rachel Woods says there is a lot of misinformation about the disease.
“The community don’t fully understand the impact of diabetes,” she explains.
“So part of our role is to provide education to them.”
Diabetes link nurses operate within CALHN to provide education, supported by the Diabetes Nurse Educators, and the team can assist GPs looking to refer patients to the service.
The service operates across the Royal Adelaide Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation service, and other sites.
Pictured are patient David Fraser with the CALHN Diabetes Service “one-stop-shop” team: endocrinologist Dr Kirsten Campbell, Diabetes Nurse Educator Jo Matters, Specialist Diabetes dietitian Connie Stanton and NUM Diabetes Educator Rachel Woods.
