EDITORIAL: Autumn 2021

Kia ora koutou! Welcome to a new year, a new season, and new opportunities.

I usually begin a new year with great enthusiasm and with a few goals and ambitions in mind, but I have to admit to taking a more tempered approach for 2021.

I am very mindful of the challenges and opportunities that 2020 brought for so many of us. Covid-19 is changing our world in many ways – and certainly when it comes to health care. For example, it has highlighted the need for accurate and timely information that is easily accessible for those who need it. Diabetes NZ works hard to be a reliable and accurate source of information and advice, and it was encouraging to see how quickly staff were able to keep up with the ever-changing circumstances last year.

But despite how well the entire “team of 5 million” has done and how lucky we have been, for many people, Covid-19 has taken a toll on mental health. In the diabetes community, there has been understandable heightened anxiety.

Our 2020 Diabetes Awareness Month (DAM) theme – love don’t judge – focusing on mental health, was a timely reminder that the diabetes community is no place for judgement. Each of us has our own story, and Diabetes NZ is there to support, encourage, and assist both on a practical level and in the offices of decision-makers.

Now, in 2021, as I look to how the Advisory Council can work to advocate for our diverse diabetes community, I also look to how my own family will be supported as we send our type 1 teenager off to tertiary study away from home. Many families around the country will be in the same situation right now.

Having been under the excellent services of the paediatric team for our entire diabetes lives, we are now discharged from their care and enter the world of adult diabetes services in a new city. Change is exciting and often rewarding, so I look forward to Mr Type 1 gaining even greater independence for his life-long interactions with the health care system.

I will certainly be paying even more attention to how the Advisory Council can keep abreast of this transition for all of our diabetes community.

This issue of Diabetes Wellness contains a round-up of our highly successful DAM campaign on page 14, as well as a report on the Challengers Dinner, a glittering fundraising event featuring many sporting celebrities. There is a focus on youth throughout the issue, along with all our usual healthy living articles, plus a test your diabetes knowledge quiz on page 36.

I wish you all the best for 2021. Let’s look after ourselves and each other.

LYNDAL LUDLOW, Advisory Chair, Diabetes NZ