12/03/2019
We love spending the day with the crew from Diabetes NSW & ACT for their very special Diabuddies Days throughout NSW and the ACT, so we were over the moon when they invited us north of the border to the Gold Coast to help their sister organisation Diabetes Queensland host their first Diabuddies day. And what a day it was! Super hero themed with REAL superheroes, nutritional information, ninja warrior course and just a day to spend with other families who also have children living with type 1 diabetes having fun.
We provided balanced morning tea snacks and a fresh buffet lunch of garden salad, roasted black angus in rich gravy, roast potatoes with bread rolls and butter. The snacks and meals are all carb counted for the families so they can have a couple of hours off from weighing and calculating their children's meals.
When 230 of the Diabetes Queensland children and families’ community get together, that’s a reason to party.
On Saturday, March 2, about 50 children with type 1 diabetes, most wearing Super Hero finery along with their pumps and CGMs, marched through the gates of Terrin Training in Nerang on the Gold Coast to have some fun with their families while meeting new friends. The common element in all the families was at least one child is living with type 1 diabetes.
Nobody had to tell the crowd twice that this was their chance to meet others who know what their journey with type 1 is like.
“Days like this are good for the whole family,” said Leonie Dhnaram, mother of Riley, 11, who was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 8. “It’s important to have something that includes the siblings. One of Riley’s younger sisters has said “Why does Riley get all the attention and we get none?”
Little Sam Matthews, 5, told his Mum, “This is the best day of my life!” Mum Belinda cried when she said it meant a lot to them both to be with so many other children and families who lived with type 1 diabetes.
Rachel Kinder, Mum of Isabel, 8 (diagnosed aged 3), and Nicholas, 6, said she enjoyed talking to other parents. “It’s awesome to meet others and feel like you’re not the only people who’ve been through it. You hear the same diagnosis stories, you’ve had the same freak outs. It reinforces you didn’t do the wrong thing. It’s important to feel like you’re not alone.”
Father of Riley Dhnaram, Michael, was amazed Diabetes Queensland could host the day for free for kids with type 1 and their siblings, with a minimal cost of $10 for member parents and carers, and $15 for non-members. He was very grateful to hear of the generosity of Paul and Karen Manning, administrators of the Geoff Booth Foundation, and grandparents of Isabel and Nicholas Kinder, whose financial support had made the day possible. “I hope they realise how grateful we are,” Michael said. “It’s amazing that they were so generous to do that for other families.”
