November 13, 2024 • 37 mins
This episode is sponsored by Diabetes NZ.
This week’s guests are Milan Moala & Susan Moala’eua.
Today is World Diabetes Day so Milan and Susan are breaking down a story we know is all too familiar for our aiga. The theme for this year’s Diabetes Action Month is ‘Don’t Sugar Coat Diabetes’. It’s important for y’all to know the symptoms, different types of diabetes there are and knowing there isn’t shame about living with this common condition.
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Flavor Podcast Network Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's
for the Brown brothers and sisters who want to be
one with themselves, their culture, their identity, their roots.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
This is Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
What's up everyone, and welcome back to Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Hey girl, Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Girl, how are you today?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm feeling good. We have a pretty good cord at
all today. It's a very special one because this month, November,
it's Diabetes Action Month and the thing for this year
is don't sugarcoat diabetes. Let's face it. We are Maudi
basifica and the stats don't look good for us in
the diabetes department. But we're all about breaking the the
fuck ama around diabetes because it's actually not a bad thing.
(00:50):
And if you do have diabetes, or you have some
suspicions that you might be living with diabetes, we want
you to know that it's all good.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So this episode's all about educating ourselves on the truth
about diabetes, to dispel myths and break stigmas.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I didn't know much.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
About diabetes before we had this chat, I will be
perfectly honest. I knew a bit from my Level two
biology I don't even know if it's biology. Must be
a level two NCAA Level two biology classes that I
had at school, but I feel like when we talk
about them without a person who has a lived experience,
it's just kind of like, oh, okay, and what am
(01:29):
I going to do with this information? But being able
to understand the real life ramifications and impacts was really
powerful in this cordy door. Yeah, so this week we
were very lucky to be joined by Iliana Fussuur from
Diabetes Auckland. Now she's a diabetes educator working on a
few different programs that help prevent diabetes and educate people
(01:50):
on lifestyle changes or the risk factors and the preventatives
two diabetes type one, type two, and she gave us
a little bit of a rundown gestational diabetes as well.
But then we were also very blessed to be joined
by Milan Mula, who is a young person living with
type one diabetes. And a big fun fact that I
(02:11):
learned was that you're not just born with type one diabetes.
I feel like I grew up reading at the Girls
Know the Babysitters Club and in the Babysits Club. Stacey
has type one diabetes, and I believe she was born
with it, so I thought that all type one diabetics
were born. But no, you actually can develop it over
(02:34):
time and it's not something that can be prevented like
type two can. But Milan has this like lovely positive
disposition on life. But then gave us the most incredible
hearty bass, badass important slam poem about his experience with
diabetes and the kinds of myths that he's had to
(02:57):
bust down in his life.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Yeah, there's no shegar Hoding. This episode of Island Roots
Auckland Way is starting right now.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Hi, everyone, welcome back to another episode of Island Roots,
Auckland Ways. It is November. It is Diabetes Action Month
and we are so so so grateful to be partnering
with diabetes in New Zealand this month as a part
of Diabetes Action Month and the theme for this month
is don't sugarcoat Diabetes. So today on the episode, we're
going to be busting myths, learning about lived experiences, but
also dismissing what discussing dismissing myths, discussing what diabetes really is.
(03:31):
And to do so, we have the amazing Ileana Fossitur
from diabetes Auckland, and Milan Walla, who lives with type
one diabetes, joining us in the studio Todayla.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Welcome on into the studio. How are we feeling today?
A little bit fine? You're a super slight and how
about you, Milan? How are we feeling good and shy?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
This is both of your first times doing a podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
What podcast were you on before?
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I don't know the name, but poetry call it all.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
And speaking on poetry. We'll have a little bit to
share on that later on in the podcast, won't we.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yes, we absolutely will hopefully if you're feeling less shy.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Later on.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I don't know if you two know, but every episode
we start our episodes with our guests with a little
game called what we love about Home? So home can
be whatever you like. It can be your physical home,
the four walls you live with them. It can be
your home I don't know, back in the Islands, or
it could be the suburb that you're from. We just
want to know what you love about home and where
home is for you. For me, home is Auckland and
(04:52):
what I'm loving about home at the moment is walks
around the viaduct in the city. It's just something so
nice about it, especially now that it's getting close to
the summer. Yeah, it's lighter later at night, it's lovely and.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It's a little bit hot at the time of recording.
Do you feel warm?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I feel warm today and I like it. I'm here
for I'm here for it.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
I'm here for putting on some sunglasses and having a
cold beverage. Yeah, regino in my hands. What I love
about home this week? I will say what I love
about home back on the Islands is the slow pace
of life. Especially on a Sunday. Everything is closed in
the Islands because that's when you go to church with
(05:31):
your families and you are supposed to rest on the
Sabbath day. So yeah, that's what I love about home,
the slow pace of life. I feel like sometimes when
we're here in New Zealand it can be like always
changing and moving. But back on the Islands, definitely, I
love how we have a dedicated day to stop and
take a rest. That's when I love home about this week.
(05:57):
How about you, Milan, what do you love about home?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
What do I love about home? I think home is
at my nance house down south. She livesten no, we
went down there recently. That are bonfard during the day
and at night. But it was nice fun, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
How often are you able to go back to your
NaN's house?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Not that often, but when we do go back, it's fun.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
It's always a good time. And Ileana, what do you
love about her?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
What I love about home this week is home for
me is I live in South Walkland and my sister,
younger sister and her family came yesterday from Brisbane, Australia.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
So yeah, a lot of kids running around it.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yeah, sharing stories and feasting and yes, that's what I
love about home this week.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
It's so lovely beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Thank you for sharing.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing, both of you.
As we know, we're here to talk about diabetes and
we kind of wanted to start off with a little
bit about your work, Ileana and how you got involved
with Diabetes New Zealand, the kind of work you do
with Diabetes New Zealand slash Diabetes Auckland, and yeah, a
little bit of how you found yourself on this line
(07:18):
of work.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
So I have been with Diabetes New Zealand since twenty thirteen. Wow,
over ten years.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Were a good girl.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I'm heavily involved with the health promotion programs and activities
out in the community. In our health promotion activities, we
focus on diabetes prevention, especially type two diabetes, which is
a type.
Speaker 6 (07:46):
That can be prevented. We have a program called Hope.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
And it's a community based diabetes prevention program. So I
coordinate and call facilitate our whole program raising awareness and
educating our especially at risk community, which is our Maori
Pacific in South Asian to learn about how to prevent
type two diabetes through healthy eating and exercise. I also
(08:16):
do workplace educations and just diabetes education and awareness in
different community groups. And I also assist on our mobile
band when we're going around different community groups, workplaces, rec centers,
(08:39):
community events, and do our HbA one C testing just
diabetes testing.
Speaker 6 (08:46):
So yeah, so that's pretty much what I do.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
My gosh, you do so.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Queen of Diabetes. First of all, can you heire to
educate us please on the different types of diabetes that
there are, because for me, I know that there's many
people in my life who live with diabetes, but I'm
actually not sure of what diabetes is and that there
is different types.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Yeah, so yeah, I was just gonna say it is
important to first know what diabetes A is. So diabetes
as a chronic disease, and it's a condition that develops
when blood glucose levels are too high because insulin is
absent or not working correctly in your body, so in
(09:33):
other words, too much sugar in the blood. So there
are three main types to answer your question about the
types of diabetes. There is gestational diabetes, which as women
who have diabetes during pregnancy, so it only occurs during pregnancy,
but once they are given birth it goes away, but
(09:55):
that increases once they're diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It increases
the risk of developing type two diabetes later on in
life if they don't look after themselves well after birth.
So that's gestational diabetes. Type one diabetes, I'm sure Milan
will talk more about it, but type one diabetes, it's
(10:17):
the type that cannot be prevented, very common among young children.
It can be genetic, but it's an autoimmune condition. So
what I mean by autoimmune is that our body owned
immune system destroys the cells that produces insulin and our body.
So once you're diagnosed with type one diabetes, you are
(10:39):
insulin dependent for life. Anything can cause type one diabetes,
and as as I've said before, it cannot be prevented.
And yeah, it can be trickered by like an infection
or changing the enroun. But yeah, once they are diagnosed
(11:02):
with type one, they are the insulin inculin dependent. And
then we have type two diabetes, which is the type
that can be prevented. And as I've mentioned before on
my introduction, the way that we do through our health
promotion programs and activities, we focus on type two diabetes.
(11:24):
So type two diabetes can be genetic as well, but
it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle. And there are other
factors that contribute to the development of type two diabetes,
but yeah, it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
So those other, yeah, different types of diabetes.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Thank you for sharing a little bit about what diabetes is, Ileana,
and we'll come back to you as to the fukama
around all the embarrassment around having and living with diabetes.
But Milan, we want to bring you in now. Tell
us about your story with diabetes. So you have type one.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Yep, type one diabetes. I was diagnosed ah how long
ago in year eight so that would be like three
years ago. Now, okay, yeah, COVID hit then after before
you know, when we're like going into live or was
it there were three or level two? Back to school?
I got diagnosed with diabetes, so I couldn't go back
(12:19):
to school, so it was all good.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Nah, yeah, so tell us your story. So you're diagnosed
with it. Did you know anything about diabetes beforehand? Or nah?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Not really but my cousin had it. Didn't really talk
to her much, But yeah, I didn't know what it was,
so coming into it, it's like, you know that like idea,
like that falsehood of it.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Yeah, it's you.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
You're the reason though for it. And then like other
things like that was hard going into it. Besides that,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That's pretty buzzy, like what were the symptoms? Like how
did you even know that there was something to diagnose?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
I was drinking heaps of water, peeing heaps. I kept
on getting real bad headaches, always felt thirsty, like dehydrated,
other things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And so did mom, who is sitting actually in the
producer booth right now. Did Mom take notice off there
and think, oh, I think we've got to thought I
was over exagged and then eventually you reach a point
you get to the doctors and they are telling you
you you live with type one diabetes. What does life
(13:27):
look like for you? Now?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Me learn a lot different. You gotta change old food
habits and stuff. Not just like we were just unehealthy
in general. But I feel like diabetes was that awakening
or you know, when you like realize that something you
need to change the way you do things, and it's Yeah,
it's really changed the way I think about food in general.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, would you say that's been the biggest challenge since
getting diagnosed or if there've been other things we were like, Wow,
I would never had to consider this before getting diagnosed
with type one.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Now, But like, just assumptions around diabetes as well just hard.
You just people don't know, but they don't know, but
they know them as much as you knew before something.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, what have been some of those assumptions.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That I cause it?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
How do you like REBUTTAL like talk back to those
people who have those misconceptions.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
I just kind of joke about it, but I don't really. Yeah,
people take it really seriously, but I just it just
does what it is.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, No, I love it. You're talking about it with
a smell.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
So, what what does life look like for you now?
So how do you monitor your blood sugar levels? Like, well,
what goes into your life as a person living with
type one diabetes? You know?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
So, I'm on a dix com G seven sounds cool
type things, continuous glucose monitor. It continually test my blood
sugar and then it talks to my pump and I
have a pump. It's a tea slim and it does
the calculations and stuff cool boluses for me. And then
(15:12):
whenever I put the numbers in on how much cabs
I'm eating and then yo.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Wow, so much management. Yea, I am too immature to
dealing with.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
We've heard kind of some of the misconceptions even about
type one being something that you can prevent now, but
we know now thanks to that you can it cannot
be printed. What are some of the other myths that
maybe you've come across, especially in your type two diabetes education,
that you would like to bust now.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
So, one of the.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Things that I have heard most from the people in
the community when I'm up there is that it's a
fit person disease. You know, you're fat and lazy, you
you know you have diabetes. Yeah, and it's one of
the things that I wanted to say now that it's
not a fat person disease.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Anyone can get type two type one diabetes.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Yeah, no one chooses. No one chooses to have diabetes.
And weight as just being overweight is just one of
the risk factors. There's more to it than you know,
just being overweight. So yeah, so that's one of the
things that I wanted to say here. It's not a
fat person disease. Even active in slim people, they develop
(16:33):
diabetes too, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, absolutely. And also what type one diabetes. The most
that I've heard about it is that it's not preventable,
but also is there is it true that you're not
you don't necessarily have to be born with it, like
you could develop it later in life.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yes, it can develop at any ages. Some people they
are born with it. It can develop at any ages.
So yeah. And as I've said before, anything in course,
think intriguer type one diabetes.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And are the symptoms between type one and type two
the same or.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Are they very very similar? So for type two diabetes,
as Milan was saying, peeing a lot is one of
the common symptoms, feeling thirsty most of the time, blood vision,
if you have a wound on your body or sore,
it's hard to heal. So that's also one of the
(17:31):
common symptoms. Unexplainable weight loss for type one diabetes. People
just losing weight without drying.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Can you relate to that, Oh no, I just got them, friend,
they got super skinny and then they got diagnosed.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
So unexplainable weight loss as one of the common symptoms
for type one diabetes.
Speaker 6 (17:49):
But those other symptoms, wow.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
So a point that we raised earlier there is that misconception, ay,
that type one diabetes, you didn't cause it, that type
two diabetes over eight adulge to your fault. It's are
your fault not moving around enough? But when clearly in
the sullen one that we're having right now, the symptoms
are quite similar and it's just quite hard to tell.
Like there are, as you say, Ileana, a lot of
(18:14):
risk factors associated with all types of diabetes.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
That so risk factors it would be your family history.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
So if you have someone in your family or a
plant relative with the condition, it increases your risk. Often
people when I'm out in the community doing education, they're like,
who guess I'm going to have it because Nana has
got it.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Yeah, well mom has got.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
It, almost like it's inevitable.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Yeah yeah, But I say to them, that's just one
of the risk factors. You can there are other things
that you know and you can you can prevent. You
can do something to prevent it or do something to
delay it's development. So yeah, so family history, unhealthy as
I've said four, type two diabetes, unhealthy weight, unhealthy eating,
(19:10):
and being not being physically active. Those are the risk
factors that you can change. But the ones that you
can't change as your family history, the ethnic group that
you belong to, So if you belong to Mali specific
or South Asian especially India, it increases your risk. And
I guess it's to do with the lifestyle that we
(19:31):
are in the food that we eat to So the
ethnic group that you belong to, your age, so your
risk of developing diabetes, especially type two diabetes increases as
you are getting older. And also if you've had diabetes
during pregnancy or women who have delivered a big baby
(19:52):
over four cages or nine pounds, wow, they also increases
their risk of developing type two diabetes and high blood
pressure a high cholesterol. If they have those two conditions,
they're most likely to develop it. But as I've said,
you know you can still you still can do something
to prevent it or delay it's development.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Okay, I mean I want to bring you back and
now how have your final come into total care or
support you now that you've had this diabetes diagnosis.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Ah. So I had a lot of family. They're freaked
out when I got a diagnosis Dad, mom, my aunties
and uncles. It was a surprise. It was actually funny
because my my younger brother got type one as well
a few months later. It's not common, but yeah, we
had to change a lot of food things, just having
(20:47):
sweet things in the house, isn't you know, high sugar things,
because it's hard to manage those things, especially when you
got two teenagers apparently. Ye oh yeah yeah. Food's changed also,
like awareness as well, especially with like whenever I go
(21:08):
to my aunties or my cousin's houses, they were like
making sure that the food is good in this low
carp lower cap then.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
But yeah, what are the discussions like between you and
your little brother?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
Ah nah, we talk to be honest, there's a joke
between us it's like, gee, if you've done your insolent
your number now, it's just it's yeah, it's it's kind
of funny, it's nice.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Oh, it's great that you guys have each other to
support through the journey.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
A yeah, it helps.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
And I assume now that you're a few years into
your diagnosis state, everything's all good. You've adjusted to this
way of living. It's just small little adjustments that you
make here and there.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah c GM, random
stuff like that, but yeah, small changes.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
How long did it take you to get used to
your gx.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
ME.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
I don't know, a few months, because once it becomes life,
it just becomes.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Like absolutely worries for the rest of your days.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
And what about you, eleanor what are some of the
ways that you have heard have been helpful to those who.
Speaker 6 (22:30):
Have been diagnosed with diabetes? I kids for.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
Uh people with diabetes, they need love, they need confession
less judgment, and they need the support. It's already hard
enough living with condition, let alone being blamed and shamed
for something that they didn't choose to have.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
So yeah, to support.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
I think it is important that people out there, if
they know someone who live with diabetes, show love and
kindness and learn about diabetes, really learn about diabetes, and yeah,
just show support.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Yeah, those are great words of advice. Eleiana. And because
you know this podcast is Maldi pacific Focus, I want
to encourage you fans, if you're listening right now, go
and get yourself checked. And you know the stats aren't
good for Maldi and Pacifica and we know that the
scene as it stands, there's a lot of judgment around
and you know, we have been trying to debunk these
(23:38):
myths and for you to go out and just have
an awareness of what's happening. If you have diabetic family members,
have a talk to them, what's life like for them,
Try and learn from the way that they live, and
then maybe that can inform your own understanding of how
diabetes works. And the main copappa is we're trying to
prevent this. We're not trying to come in at an
(23:59):
intervention stage. We're trying to come and wait before anything happens,
so you have a happier, longer and a bit of
fulfilling life.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Absolutely, so where can people go and get tested?
Speaker 5 (24:11):
So we have a mobile vein and talked to you
guys about but they can just go and talk to
their family doctor and they can get a blood test
done at laid Test. But if they don't want to
go and see the doctor, we have our mobile win
calendar on our Diabetes New Zealand websites for every month,
so they will find out the locations that our vein
(24:35):
will be that particular week and they can just come
and visit us. It's free, free, and then we can
do the HBO test, which is the test that they
used to diagnose people with diabetes and it measures the
average of their bloochica level over the last three months.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And how long would a test like that take?
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Seven to ten minutes in your result right there very first?
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, easy, Yeah. My papa has type two diabetes, so
he's always chicking his blood sugar and he always has
fruit handy around the house, like a banana or an apple,
and like he waits until a certain time to teste
himself and then I'll see him like on a night
that the blood sugar hasn't looked so well, and then
(25:20):
he's got like a banana peal and then there is
like a ton of corn beer and like having a
whole feast for himself to try and get that those
levels up. And I always used to buzz out at
the testing device that he uses, because you need to
prick yourself to take a blood sample, and then you
put it in this little machine and this man with age,
(25:44):
you know, you just lose a weirdness of what's happening.
And so you'll see those little you know, those little
things that you put the blood on. Yes, you just
see them all over the house. Yes, so.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
That's that's your experience of Yes.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
But we loved. What are your words of advice for
any Malori Pacific young people, because that's who we're talking
to on island roots upland ways, what are your words
of advice for our final out there who might be
dealing with any type.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Wow, this is personally. I put everything in a poem
and I just write it out and then when I
performed that poem, it gives me like a feeling of relief,
you know what I mean. Just get that that feeling.
Don't pile it up inside, just get it.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Out, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Nice, So creative out lits really important. How did you
find poetry as like your creative out lit?
Speaker 4 (26:37):
So? I did this thing called many cord it or
I did money spoke for my school and it was
all restricted and I was just like the way they
you couldn't write what you wanted to write. So then
our school, I found we also had a spoken word program,
So I just showed up. And then you just write
what you write and it's it's not hate speech, but
(26:59):
you just put everything on into a doc you know,
or like a notes or like a piece of paper,
and then you perform that. And when you perform and
it gives you like like you know, like you have
a thing you want to get out of that poem
and poetry helped you get out of it. Did you
get out of the idea of this?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Mayors used to be a slam poet?
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Can you that's what we do in poetry?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Can you speak to that experience?
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Did you do with the front Line?
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Last year? What year did you last year? Well we
didn't take we got to the series of with the
front Line, But you did win one, right I wan? Oh? Yes,
I won another composition. It's called Storytellers and that year thirteen,
and my piece was on bully. Oh this is taking
(27:46):
me back to high school, like creative out money? Did
you do thet did they still do that?
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, we did that. We did our treat. I'm not
it's not called the retreat. It's got something else, but
yeah we did it.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Yes, yeah, it'scored something along those lines. And yeah, I
love poetry as a creative outlets. So I understand me
Land that you have a slam one that you want
to share right now, diabetes. I reckon, we're really I
think we're really the radio some that we can't say
(28:23):
on a Sunday, but when you're ready, you can take away.
We'd love to hear it.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I've always been a Pacific Maldi boy. My culture, just
like my thoughts, spread out in all different directions, connected
by the ocean. People like me. I won't even lie
like raw fish and Rugby League, but Netflix with R
and B blasting in the background. If my life was
an R and B record, if my life is, my
life is like an R and B record on repeat.
The only thing I love more is Oh, that's right. Food.
(28:56):
From the very first moment when Nest taking cheese pie,
h's my taste buds, the flavor swirling on my tongue
and chanced by the textures and the aromas of every bite.
Man I love food, and you know what, that wouldn't
be a problem if I didn't have a non functional
pancreas unable to cope with the sweetness that courses through
these veins. So most days I have to do it myself.
So why am I always being slot in with the
(29:19):
people who sit at home doing nothing? Is it because
I'm a little bigger than others? This stereotype that since
I'm fat and round, this is more likely to be
self inflicted? Self inflicted even if it wasn't. I don't
need your opinion the freedom we lose when that doctor
walks in diagnosing our condition. Nah, problems we have to
live with to the day we draw that last breath.
(29:43):
When I was diagnosed, I was told that everything would
be the same besides a few injections, and how where
we are we need to be of my body. I
was never told about all the assumptions that will be
placed on me by faceless people that surround me. Media
stereotype in my condition, forming false opinions of these issues.
Every diabetic must be fat the fault they're in this mess. Well, actually,
scuff you. This crap is hereditary, like the color of
(30:05):
your eyes or your skins. How is this any different
than your receding hairline or you're in large nose looking
it tough into other people's businesses. But since I'm like
this brown skin, long hair with the deep past, it
leads to your misconception that I have always been a diabetic.
But see, because I was never born like this. So
when being told that these issues may have been my
fault makes me feel less of the man I once
(30:28):
was or never got to be, because when all you
know is that takeout is bad and that vegetables are good,
it's how to process. The genetics have an effect on
the way your life is going to turn out, sprawling
out out of control around this roundabout we call adolescence,
calling it a burnt out, burned out, ran out of wax,
or really time before my pancage shut down. So maybe
sometimes it's enough to make a boy lose his appetite,
(30:50):
second guessing all the foods he finds enjoyable. Somethink that
we was to stain my hunger no longer reliable, a
burden I carry everywhere I go. So do you know
what it's like to food down your throat with tears
forming it your eyes to wash away. The pain. Only
problem is tears or wash away, the pain of needles
being latched onto your stomach, tea sipped into your pancreas,
and every bite only ever eat away. Myself thought of
(31:11):
unfulfilled rummage to what my kid wishing it was all
a dream, restless nights from waking up so weak, unable
to move, hoping that someone will save me from my coma.
Grateful that someone did, but still wondering whatever better, just
to let myself go. And when that starts, you begin
to ask yourself, when will this pain start? When will
(31:32):
I be able to stop lying to myself and accept
the burden. So sticks and stones may break my bones,
but your words will forever scar me, and I'll wear
those scars and bruises like a patch eternally etched into
my back, reminding me of the life I live. Diabetic, Sorry,
I am not a diabetic. I have diabetes.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It is not who I am.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
It is a part of me. It does not define
the quality of my character. So next time you want
to binge Netflix or smash down some raw fish, hollor
be lave you all those conceptions at the door, because
there ain't no room in this group chat for this
respect sorry, wow.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
What now I see is this beautiful happy disposition where
you can put.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
All his feelings.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
So we're going to check that up on our Instagram.
So you can go to Island Roots Auckland Ways on
Instagram and TikTok if you want to peep there. So
we're going to move on now, Milan Eleana to a
little rapid Fire, a little rapid fire game to wrap
up the episode. Someone's coming up, as we mentioned at
the start, and we just want to ask you what
(32:52):
is your ideal summer? So in a dream universe, what
would you be doing the summer? Coming up? Alyssa, it's
see someone summer girl herself.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Yes, okay, that is what I'm doing. I'm going to
some More for a good part of summer. Will be
my first time back home in over fifteen years, so
I'm so excited to spend basically a whole month, and
I'm taking my dad with me, probably his final trip
back home, so it'd be really special. We're planning to
(33:25):
go to all the places he grew he grew up in,
go to all the villagers, maybe.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Get a what's dot with? But I'm so excited. I
think that's my ideal summer.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Oh, you can't be an island summer, I'm sorry. Apart
from the whole typhoon season, maybe not during the that's okay.
My dream summer is one spent not working. Actually, so
I can't wait to spend three weeks just out of office.
My favorite part of taking a holiday is when you
(33:58):
go into Microsoft Outlook and turn on your I love
writing that. I'm like, I hope this email finds you. Well,
I am unfortunately not working until I won't have access
to my emails during this time.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
That's my favorite thing to see.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
So that's my dream summer, one way out of office
emails off. How about you guys.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
So this summer for me, I'll be heading to Fiji.
Yeah I am.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Well, I'm tongueing it, but I'm called a Fijian. So
my date's mum is Fijian and we have a family
reunion and it's a village called in the Loo Lou group.
So yeah, so I'll be there for in Fiji for
three weeks.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Sonny. Yeah, when was the last time you went to Fiji?
Speaker 6 (34:52):
February this year?
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Oh, yes, how timely that record? This podcast on Fijian
language at the top of So, how about you, Milan,
what's your ideal summer school holidays?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
So my ideal holidays was staying at home and going swimming.
But the summer I'll be training for nationals. What come
with friends?
Speaker 3 (35:25):
I also did. I feel like there's so many parallels
in our journey and that's what I'm releasing as we pedalful.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Pedelful toma o CC. This is gonna be fun. We're
gonna train. Wow.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
With that said me, lan Iliana, thank you so much
for joining us on Island Roots, upland Ways this week.
And we're all about debunking the myths that come with diabetes.
And you can uh take a quiz. It's all about
learning the risk of diabetes. It's called the Know You're Quiz.
You can take that diabetes dot org, dot inz slash
(36:04):
no dash your dash risk as nice.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
We will be heading over online to take that. Thank
you guys so much for joining us, for your beautiful slam, poetry, sunning,
and for your amazing knowledge. We're so grateful.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Bye, Thank you cheer and that is iral for this week.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Thank you guys so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Are we allowed to announce that this is our second
to last episode? I think we are girls second to
last episode, So you've got a week to prepare for
our last episode now gives your tissues ready, get your own,
I don't know, get your blankets, and you're ready for
(36:49):
next week. We ne're gonna cozy up with us for
the last time.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
But thank you so much to me Lan.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Thank you so much to Iliana for your time today,
for your corded Orf, for your male tooldunger and as always,
you can find us on the socials, Instagram, TikTok at
Island Roots, orkand ways. I'd love for you to come
and say hi to me because it is me running
the socials, and I will be honest, I've been slacking
on the TikTok, so if you could come say hi
to me on TikTok, maybe I'll be more motivated to
(37:18):
post on there.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Thank you very much, we are to hear.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Bye bye,
The Flavor Podcast Network Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's
for the Brown brothers and sisters who want to be
one with themselves, their culture, their identity, their roots.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
This is Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
What's up everyone, and welcome back to Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Hey girl, Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Girl, how are you today?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm feeling good. We have a pretty good cord at
all today. It's a very special one because this month, November,
it's Diabetes Action Month and the thing for this year
is don't sugarcoat diabetes. Let's face it. We are Maudi
basifica and the stats don't look good for us in
the diabetes department. But we're all about breaking the the
fuck ama around diabetes because it's actually not a bad thing.
(00:50):
And if you do have diabetes, or you have some
suspicions that you might be living with diabetes, we want
you to know that it's all good.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So this episode's all about educating ourselves on the truth
about diabetes, to dispel myths and break stigmas.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I didn't know much.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
About diabetes before we had this chat, I will be
perfectly honest. I knew a bit from my Level two
biology I don't even know if it's biology. Must be
a level two NCAA Level two biology classes that I
had at school, but I feel like when we talk
about them without a person who has a lived experience,
it's just kind of like, oh, okay, and what am
(01:29):
I going to do with this information? But being able
to understand the real life ramifications and impacts was really
powerful in this cordy door. Yeah, so this week we
were very lucky to be joined by Iliana Fussuur from
Diabetes Auckland. Now she's a diabetes educator working on a
few different programs that help prevent diabetes and educate people
(01:50):
on lifestyle changes or the risk factors and the preventatives
two diabetes type one, type two, and she gave us
a little bit of a rundown gestational diabetes as well.
But then we were also very blessed to be joined
by Milan Mula, who is a young person living with
type one diabetes. And a big fun fact that I
(02:11):
learned was that you're not just born with type one diabetes.
I feel like I grew up reading at the Girls
Know the Babysitters Club and in the Babysits Club. Stacey
has type one diabetes, and I believe she was born
with it, so I thought that all type one diabetics
were born. But no, you actually can develop it over
(02:34):
time and it's not something that can be prevented like
type two can. But Milan has this like lovely positive
disposition on life. But then gave us the most incredible
hearty bass, badass important slam poem about his experience with
diabetes and the kinds of myths that he's had to
(02:57):
bust down in his life.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Yeah, there's no shegar Hoding. This episode of Island Roots
Auckland Way is starting right now.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Hi, everyone, welcome back to another episode of Island Roots,
Auckland Ways. It is November. It is Diabetes Action Month
and we are so so so grateful to be partnering
with diabetes in New Zealand this month as a part
of Diabetes Action Month and the theme for this month
is don't sugarcoat Diabetes. So today on the episode, we're
going to be busting myths, learning about lived experiences, but
also dismissing what discussing dismissing myths, discussing what diabetes really is.
(03:31):
And to do so, we have the amazing Ileana Fossitur
from diabetes Auckland, and Milan Walla, who lives with type
one diabetes, joining us in the studio Todayla.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Welcome on into the studio. How are we feeling today?
A little bit fine? You're a super slight and how
about you, Milan? How are we feeling good and shy?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
This is both of your first times doing a podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
What podcast were you on before?
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I don't know the name, but poetry call it all.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
And speaking on poetry. We'll have a little bit to
share on that later on in the podcast, won't we.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yes, we absolutely will hopefully if you're feeling less shy.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Later on.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I don't know if you two know, but every episode
we start our episodes with our guests with a little
game called what we love about Home? So home can
be whatever you like. It can be your physical home,
the four walls you live with them. It can be
your home I don't know, back in the Islands, or
it could be the suburb that you're from. We just
want to know what you love about home and where
home is for you. For me, home is Auckland and
(04:52):
what I'm loving about home at the moment is walks
around the viaduct in the city. It's just something so
nice about it, especially now that it's getting close to
the summer. Yeah, it's lighter later at night, it's lovely and.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It's a little bit hot at the time of recording.
Do you feel warm?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I feel warm today and I like it. I'm here
for I'm here for it.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
I'm here for putting on some sunglasses and having a
cold beverage. Yeah, regino in my hands. What I love
about home this week? I will say what I love
about home back on the Islands is the slow pace
of life. Especially on a Sunday. Everything is closed in
the Islands because that's when you go to church with
(05:31):
your families and you are supposed to rest on the
Sabbath day. So yeah, that's what I love about home,
the slow pace of life. I feel like sometimes when
we're here in New Zealand it can be like always
changing and moving. But back on the Islands, definitely, I
love how we have a dedicated day to stop and
take a rest. That's when I love home about this week.
(05:57):
How about you, Milan, what do you love about home?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
What do I love about home? I think home is
at my nance house down south. She livesten no, we
went down there recently. That are bonfard during the day
and at night. But it was nice fun, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
How often are you able to go back to your
NaN's house?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Not that often, but when we do go back, it's fun.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
It's always a good time. And Ileana, what do you
love about her?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
What I love about home this week is home for
me is I live in South Walkland and my sister,
younger sister and her family came yesterday from Brisbane, Australia.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
So yeah, a lot of kids running around it.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yeah, sharing stories and feasting and yes, that's what I
love about home this week.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
It's so lovely beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Thank you for sharing.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing, both of you.
As we know, we're here to talk about diabetes and
we kind of wanted to start off with a little
bit about your work, Ileana and how you got involved
with Diabetes New Zealand, the kind of work you do
with Diabetes New Zealand slash Diabetes Auckland, and yeah, a
little bit of how you found yourself on this line
(07:18):
of work.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
So I have been with Diabetes New Zealand since twenty thirteen. Wow,
over ten years.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Were a good girl.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I'm heavily involved with the health promotion programs and activities
out in the community. In our health promotion activities, we
focus on diabetes prevention, especially type two diabetes, which is
a type.
Speaker 6 (07:46):
That can be prevented. We have a program called Hope.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
And it's a community based diabetes prevention program. So I
coordinate and call facilitate our whole program raising awareness and
educating our especially at risk community, which is our Maori
Pacific in South Asian to learn about how to prevent
type two diabetes through healthy eating and exercise. I also
(08:16):
do workplace educations and just diabetes education and awareness in
different community groups. And I also assist on our mobile
band when we're going around different community groups, workplaces, rec centers,
(08:39):
community events, and do our HbA one C testing just
diabetes testing.
Speaker 6 (08:46):
So yeah, so that's pretty much what I do.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
My gosh, you do so.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Queen of Diabetes. First of all, can you heire to
educate us please on the different types of diabetes that
there are, because for me, I know that there's many
people in my life who live with diabetes, but I'm
actually not sure of what diabetes is and that there
is different types.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Yeah, so yeah, I was just gonna say it is
important to first know what diabetes A is. So diabetes
as a chronic disease, and it's a condition that develops
when blood glucose levels are too high because insulin is
absent or not working correctly in your body, so in
(09:33):
other words, too much sugar in the blood. So there
are three main types to answer your question about the
types of diabetes. There is gestational diabetes, which as women
who have diabetes during pregnancy, so it only occurs during pregnancy,
but once they are given birth it goes away, but
(09:55):
that increases once they're diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It increases
the risk of developing type two diabetes later on in
life if they don't look after themselves well after birth.
So that's gestational diabetes. Type one diabetes, I'm sure Milan
will talk more about it, but type one diabetes, it's
(10:17):
the type that cannot be prevented, very common among young children.
It can be genetic, but it's an autoimmune condition. So
what I mean by autoimmune is that our body owned
immune system destroys the cells that produces insulin and our body.
So once you're diagnosed with type one diabetes, you are
(10:39):
insulin dependent for life. Anything can cause type one diabetes,
and as as I've said before, it cannot be prevented.
And yeah, it can be trickered by like an infection
or changing the enroun. But yeah, once they are diagnosed
(11:02):
with type one, they are the insulin inculin dependent. And
then we have type two diabetes, which is the type
that can be prevented. And as I've mentioned before on
my introduction, the way that we do through our health
promotion programs and activities, we focus on type two diabetes.
(11:24):
So type two diabetes can be genetic as well, but
it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle. And there are other
factors that contribute to the development of type two diabetes,
but yeah, it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
So those other, yeah, different types of diabetes.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Thank you for sharing a little bit about what diabetes is, Ileana,
and we'll come back to you as to the fukama
around all the embarrassment around having and living with diabetes.
But Milan, we want to bring you in now. Tell
us about your story with diabetes. So you have type one.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Yep, type one diabetes. I was diagnosed ah how long
ago in year eight so that would be like three
years ago. Now, okay, yeah, COVID hit then after before
you know, when we're like going into live or was
it there were three or level two? Back to school?
I got diagnosed with diabetes, so I couldn't go back
(12:19):
to school, so it was all good.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Nah, yeah, so tell us your story. So you're diagnosed
with it. Did you know anything about diabetes beforehand? Or nah?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Not really but my cousin had it. Didn't really talk
to her much, But yeah, I didn't know what it was,
so coming into it, it's like, you know that like idea,
like that falsehood of it.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Yeah, it's you.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
You're the reason though for it. And then like other
things like that was hard going into it. Besides that,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That's pretty buzzy, like what were the symptoms? Like how
did you even know that there was something to diagnose?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
I was drinking heaps of water, peeing heaps. I kept
on getting real bad headaches, always felt thirsty, like dehydrated,
other things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And so did mom, who is sitting actually in the
producer booth right now. Did Mom take notice off there
and think, oh, I think we've got to thought I
was over exagged and then eventually you reach a point
you get to the doctors and they are telling you
you you live with type one diabetes. What does life
(13:27):
look like for you? Now?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Me learn a lot different. You gotta change old food
habits and stuff. Not just like we were just unehealthy
in general. But I feel like diabetes was that awakening
or you know, when you like realize that something you
need to change the way you do things, and it's Yeah,
it's really changed the way I think about food in general.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, would you say that's been the biggest challenge since
getting diagnosed or if there've been other things we were like, Wow,
I would never had to consider this before getting diagnosed
with type one.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Now, But like, just assumptions around diabetes as well just hard.
You just people don't know, but they don't know, but
they know them as much as you knew before something.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, what have been some of those assumptions.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That I cause it?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
How do you like REBUTTAL like talk back to those
people who have those misconceptions.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
I just kind of joke about it, but I don't really. Yeah,
people take it really seriously, but I just it just
does what it is.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, No, I love it. You're talking about it with
a smell.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
So, what what does life look like for you now?
So how do you monitor your blood sugar levels? Like, well,
what goes into your life as a person living with
type one diabetes? You know?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
So, I'm on a dix com G seven sounds cool
type things, continuous glucose monitor. It continually test my blood
sugar and then it talks to my pump and I
have a pump. It's a tea slim and it does
the calculations and stuff cool boluses for me. And then
(15:12):
whenever I put the numbers in on how much cabs
I'm eating and then yo.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Wow, so much management. Yea, I am too immature to
dealing with.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
We've heard kind of some of the misconceptions even about
type one being something that you can prevent now, but
we know now thanks to that you can it cannot
be printed. What are some of the other myths that
maybe you've come across, especially in your type two diabetes education,
that you would like to bust now.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
So, one of the.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Things that I have heard most from the people in
the community when I'm up there is that it's a
fit person disease. You know, you're fat and lazy, you
you know you have diabetes. Yeah, and it's one of
the things that I wanted to say now that it's
not a fat person disease.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Anyone can get type two type one diabetes.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Yeah, no one chooses. No one chooses to have diabetes.
And weight as just being overweight is just one of
the risk factors. There's more to it than you know,
just being overweight. So yeah, so that's one of the
things that I wanted to say here. It's not a
fat person disease. Even active in slim people, they develop
(16:33):
diabetes too, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, absolutely. And also what type one diabetes. The most
that I've heard about it is that it's not preventable,
but also is there is it true that you're not
you don't necessarily have to be born with it, like
you could develop it later in life.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yes, it can develop at any ages. Some people they
are born with it. It can develop at any ages.
So yeah. And as I've said before, anything in course,
think intriguer type one diabetes.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And are the symptoms between type one and type two
the same or.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Are they very very similar? So for type two diabetes,
as Milan was saying, peeing a lot is one of
the common symptoms, feeling thirsty most of the time, blood vision,
if you have a wound on your body or sore,
it's hard to heal. So that's also one of the
(17:31):
common symptoms. Unexplainable weight loss for type one diabetes. People
just losing weight without drying.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Can you relate to that, Oh no, I just got them, friend,
they got super skinny and then they got diagnosed.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
So unexplainable weight loss as one of the common symptoms
for type one diabetes.
Speaker 6 (17:49):
But those other symptoms, wow.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
So a point that we raised earlier there is that misconception, ay,
that type one diabetes, you didn't cause it, that type
two diabetes over eight adulge to your fault. It's are
your fault not moving around enough? But when clearly in
the sullen one that we're having right now, the symptoms
are quite similar and it's just quite hard to tell.
Like there are, as you say, Ileana, a lot of
(18:14):
risk factors associated with all types of diabetes.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
That so risk factors it would be your family history.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
So if you have someone in your family or a
plant relative with the condition, it increases your risk. Often
people when I'm out in the community doing education, they're like,
who guess I'm going to have it because Nana has
got it.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Yeah, well mom has got.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
It, almost like it's inevitable.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Yeah yeah, But I say to them, that's just one
of the risk factors. You can there are other things
that you know and you can you can prevent. You
can do something to prevent it or do something to
delay it's development. So yeah, so family history, unhealthy as
I've said four, type two diabetes, unhealthy weight, unhealthy eating,
(19:10):
and being not being physically active. Those are the risk
factors that you can change. But the ones that you
can't change as your family history, the ethnic group that
you belong to, So if you belong to Mali specific
or South Asian especially India, it increases your risk. And
I guess it's to do with the lifestyle that we
(19:31):
are in the food that we eat to So the
ethnic group that you belong to, your age, so your
risk of developing diabetes, especially type two diabetes increases as
you are getting older. And also if you've had diabetes
during pregnancy or women who have delivered a big baby
(19:52):
over four cages or nine pounds, wow, they also increases
their risk of developing type two diabetes and high blood
pressure a high cholesterol. If they have those two conditions,
they're most likely to develop it. But as I've said,
you know you can still you still can do something
to prevent it or delay it's development.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Okay, I mean I want to bring you back and
now how have your final come into total care or
support you now that you've had this diabetes diagnosis.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Ah. So I had a lot of family. They're freaked
out when I got a diagnosis Dad, mom, my aunties
and uncles. It was a surprise. It was actually funny
because my my younger brother got type one as well
a few months later. It's not common, but yeah, we
had to change a lot of food things, just having
(20:47):
sweet things in the house, isn't you know, high sugar things,
because it's hard to manage those things, especially when you
got two teenagers apparently. Ye oh yeah yeah. Food's changed also,
like awareness as well, especially with like whenever I go
(21:08):
to my aunties or my cousin's houses, they were like
making sure that the food is good in this low
carp lower cap then.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
But yeah, what are the discussions like between you and
your little brother?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
Ah nah, we talk to be honest, there's a joke
between us it's like, gee, if you've done your insolent
your number now, it's just it's yeah, it's it's kind
of funny, it's nice.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Oh, it's great that you guys have each other to
support through the journey.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
A yeah, it helps.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
And I assume now that you're a few years into
your diagnosis state, everything's all good. You've adjusted to this
way of living. It's just small little adjustments that you
make here and there.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah c GM, random
stuff like that, but yeah, small changes.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
How long did it take you to get used to
your gx.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
ME.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
I don't know, a few months, because once it becomes life,
it just becomes.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Like absolutely worries for the rest of your days.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
And what about you, eleanor what are some of the
ways that you have heard have been helpful to those who.
Speaker 6 (22:30):
Have been diagnosed with diabetes? I kids for.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
Uh people with diabetes, they need love, they need confession
less judgment, and they need the support. It's already hard
enough living with condition, let alone being blamed and shamed
for something that they didn't choose to have.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
So yeah, to support.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
I think it is important that people out there, if
they know someone who live with diabetes, show love and
kindness and learn about diabetes, really learn about diabetes, and yeah,
just show support.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Yeah, those are great words of advice. Eleiana. And because
you know this podcast is Maldi pacific Focus, I want
to encourage you fans, if you're listening right now, go
and get yourself checked. And you know the stats aren't
good for Maldi and Pacifica and we know that the
scene as it stands, there's a lot of judgment around
and you know, we have been trying to debunk these
(23:38):
myths and for you to go out and just have
an awareness of what's happening. If you have diabetic family members,
have a talk to them, what's life like for them,
Try and learn from the way that they live, and
then maybe that can inform your own understanding of how
diabetes works. And the main copappa is we're trying to
prevent this. We're not trying to come in at an
(23:59):
intervention stage. We're trying to come and wait before anything happens,
so you have a happier, longer and a bit of
fulfilling life.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Absolutely, so where can people go and get tested?
Speaker 5 (24:11):
So we have a mobile vein and talked to you
guys about but they can just go and talk to
their family doctor and they can get a blood test
done at laid Test. But if they don't want to
go and see the doctor, we have our mobile win
calendar on our Diabetes New Zealand websites for every month,
so they will find out the locations that our vein
(24:35):
will be that particular week and they can just come
and visit us. It's free, free, and then we can
do the HBO test, which is the test that they
used to diagnose people with diabetes and it measures the
average of their bloochica level over the last three months.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And how long would a test like that take?
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Seven to ten minutes in your result right there very first?
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, easy, Yeah. My papa has type two diabetes, so
he's always chicking his blood sugar and he always has
fruit handy around the house, like a banana or an apple,
and like he waits until a certain time to teste
himself and then I'll see him like on a night
that the blood sugar hasn't looked so well, and then
(25:20):
he's got like a banana peal and then there is
like a ton of corn beer and like having a
whole feast for himself to try and get that those
levels up. And I always used to buzz out at
the testing device that he uses, because you need to
prick yourself to take a blood sample, and then you
put it in this little machine and this man with age,
(25:44):
you know, you just lose a weirdness of what's happening.
And so you'll see those little you know, those little
things that you put the blood on. Yes, you just
see them all over the house. Yes, so.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
That's that's your experience of Yes.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
But we loved. What are your words of advice for
any Malori Pacific young people, because that's who we're talking
to on island roots upland ways, what are your words
of advice for our final out there who might be
dealing with any type.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Wow, this is personally. I put everything in a poem
and I just write it out and then when I
performed that poem, it gives me like a feeling of relief,
you know what I mean. Just get that that feeling.
Don't pile it up inside, just get it.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Out, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Nice, So creative out lits really important. How did you
find poetry as like your creative out lit?
Speaker 4 (26:37):
So? I did this thing called many cord it or
I did money spoke for my school and it was
all restricted and I was just like the way they
you couldn't write what you wanted to write. So then
our school, I found we also had a spoken word program,
So I just showed up. And then you just write
what you write and it's it's not hate speech, but
(26:59):
you just put everything on into a doc you know,
or like a notes or like a piece of paper,
and then you perform that. And when you perform and
it gives you like like you know, like you have
a thing you want to get out of that poem
and poetry helped you get out of it. Did you
get out of the idea of this?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Mayors used to be a slam poet?
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Can you that's what we do in poetry?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Can you speak to that experience?
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Did you do with the front Line?
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Last year? What year did you last year? Well we
didn't take we got to the series of with the
front Line, But you did win one, right I wan? Oh? Yes,
I won another composition. It's called Storytellers and that year thirteen,
and my piece was on bully. Oh this is taking
(27:46):
me back to high school, like creative out money? Did
you do thet did they still do that?
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, we did that. We did our treat. I'm not
it's not called the retreat. It's got something else, but
yeah we did it.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Yes, yeah, it'scored something along those lines. And yeah, I
love poetry as a creative outlets. So I understand me
Land that you have a slam one that you want
to share right now, diabetes. I reckon, we're really I
think we're really the radio some that we can't say
(28:23):
on a Sunday, but when you're ready, you can take away.
We'd love to hear it.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I've always been a Pacific Maldi boy. My culture, just
like my thoughts, spread out in all different directions, connected
by the ocean. People like me. I won't even lie
like raw fish and Rugby League, but Netflix with R
and B blasting in the background. If my life was
an R and B record, if my life is, my
life is like an R and B record on repeat.
The only thing I love more is Oh, that's right. Food.
(28:56):
From the very first moment when Nest taking cheese pie,
h's my taste buds, the flavor swirling on my tongue
and chanced by the textures and the aromas of every bite.
Man I love food, and you know what, that wouldn't
be a problem if I didn't have a non functional
pancreas unable to cope with the sweetness that courses through
these veins. So most days I have to do it myself.
So why am I always being slot in with the
(29:19):
people who sit at home doing nothing? Is it because
I'm a little bigger than others? This stereotype that since
I'm fat and round, this is more likely to be
self inflicted? Self inflicted even if it wasn't. I don't
need your opinion the freedom we lose when that doctor
walks in diagnosing our condition. Nah, problems we have to
live with to the day we draw that last breath.
(29:43):
When I was diagnosed, I was told that everything would
be the same besides a few injections, and how where
we are we need to be of my body. I
was never told about all the assumptions that will be
placed on me by faceless people that surround me. Media
stereotype in my condition, forming false opinions of these issues.
Every diabetic must be fat the fault they're in this mess. Well, actually,
scuff you. This crap is hereditary, like the color of
(30:05):
your eyes or your skins. How is this any different
than your receding hairline or you're in large nose looking
it tough into other people's businesses. But since I'm like
this brown skin, long hair with the deep past, it
leads to your misconception that I have always been a diabetic.
But see, because I was never born like this. So
when being told that these issues may have been my
fault makes me feel less of the man I once
(30:28):
was or never got to be, because when all you
know is that takeout is bad and that vegetables are good,
it's how to process. The genetics have an effect on
the way your life is going to turn out, sprawling
out out of control around this roundabout we call adolescence,
calling it a burnt out, burned out, ran out of wax,
or really time before my pancage shut down. So maybe
sometimes it's enough to make a boy lose his appetite,
(30:50):
second guessing all the foods he finds enjoyable. Somethink that
we was to stain my hunger no longer reliable, a
burden I carry everywhere I go. So do you know
what it's like to food down your throat with tears
forming it your eyes to wash away. The pain. Only
problem is tears or wash away, the pain of needles
being latched onto your stomach, tea sipped into your pancreas,
and every bite only ever eat away. Myself thought of
(31:11):
unfulfilled rummage to what my kid wishing it was all
a dream, restless nights from waking up so weak, unable
to move, hoping that someone will save me from my coma.
Grateful that someone did, but still wondering whatever better, just
to let myself go. And when that starts, you begin
to ask yourself, when will this pain start? When will
(31:32):
I be able to stop lying to myself and accept
the burden. So sticks and stones may break my bones,
but your words will forever scar me, and I'll wear
those scars and bruises like a patch eternally etched into
my back, reminding me of the life I live. Diabetic, Sorry,
I am not a diabetic. I have diabetes.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It is not who I am.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
It is a part of me. It does not define
the quality of my character. So next time you want
to binge Netflix or smash down some raw fish, hollor
be lave you all those conceptions at the door, because
there ain't no room in this group chat for this
respect sorry, wow.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
What now I see is this beautiful happy disposition where
you can put.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
All his feelings.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
So we're going to check that up on our Instagram.
So you can go to Island Roots Auckland Ways on
Instagram and TikTok if you want to peep there. So
we're going to move on now, Milan Eleana to a
little rapid Fire, a little rapid fire game to wrap
up the episode. Someone's coming up, as we mentioned at
the start, and we just want to ask you what
(32:52):
is your ideal summer? So in a dream universe, what
would you be doing the summer? Coming up? Alyssa, it's
see someone summer girl herself.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Yes, okay, that is what I'm doing. I'm going to
some More for a good part of summer. Will be
my first time back home in over fifteen years, so
I'm so excited to spend basically a whole month, and
I'm taking my dad with me, probably his final trip
back home, so it'd be really special. We're planning to
(33:25):
go to all the places he grew he grew up in,
go to all the villagers, maybe.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Get a what's dot with? But I'm so excited. I
think that's my ideal summer.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Oh, you can't be an island summer, I'm sorry. Apart
from the whole typhoon season, maybe not during the that's okay.
My dream summer is one spent not working. Actually, so
I can't wait to spend three weeks just out of office.
My favorite part of taking a holiday is when you
(33:58):
go into Microsoft Outlook and turn on your I love
writing that. I'm like, I hope this email finds you. Well,
I am unfortunately not working until I won't have access
to my emails during this time.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
That's my favorite thing to see.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
So that's my dream summer, one way out of office
emails off. How about you guys.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
So this summer for me, I'll be heading to Fiji.
Yeah I am.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Well, I'm tongueing it, but I'm called a Fijian. So
my date's mum is Fijian and we have a family
reunion and it's a village called in the Loo Lou group.
So yeah, so I'll be there for in Fiji for
three weeks.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Sonny. Yeah, when was the last time you went to Fiji?
Speaker 6 (34:52):
February this year?
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Oh, yes, how timely that record? This podcast on Fijian
language at the top of So, how about you, Milan,
what's your ideal summer school holidays?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
So my ideal holidays was staying at home and going swimming.
But the summer I'll be training for nationals. What come
with friends?
Speaker 3 (35:25):
I also did. I feel like there's so many parallels
in our journey and that's what I'm releasing as we pedalful.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Pedelful toma o CC. This is gonna be fun. We're
gonna train. Wow.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
With that said me, lan Iliana, thank you so much
for joining us on Island Roots, upland Ways this week.
And we're all about debunking the myths that come with diabetes.
And you can uh take a quiz. It's all about
learning the risk of diabetes. It's called the Know You're Quiz.
You can take that diabetes dot org, dot inz slash
(36:04):
no dash your dash risk as nice.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
We will be heading over online to take that. Thank
you guys so much for joining us, for your beautiful slam, poetry, sunning,
and for your amazing knowledge. We're so grateful.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Bye, Thank you cheer and that is iral for this week.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Thank you guys so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Are we allowed to announce that this is our second
to last episode? I think we are girls second to
last episode, So you've got a week to prepare for
our last episode now gives your tissues ready, get your own,
I don't know, get your blankets, and you're ready for
(36:49):
next week. We ne're gonna cozy up with us for
the last time.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
But thank you so much to me Lan.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Thank you so much to Iliana for your time today,
for your corded Orf, for your male tooldunger and as always,
you can find us on the socials, Instagram, TikTok at
Island Roots, orkand ways. I'd love for you to come
and say hi to me because it is me running
the socials, and I will be honest, I've been slacking
on the TikTok, so if you could come say hi
to me on TikTok, maybe I'll be more motivated to
(37:18):
post on there.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Thank you very much, we are to hear.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Bye bye,
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.