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SAVED BY THE SCREENING LUCY SHARP moved to Australia from India as an adult and was diagnosed with diabetes soon afterwards. She says that, if it hadn’t been for the regular health screenings in her new home, she might not have found out until it was too late. I was born in Burma (now Myanmar). My mother is Anglo-Burmese but my father was Indian, so when I was 20, we all moved to India. I spent the next 17 years there, before I met my husband. He brought me to Australia on holiday and, somehow, we ended up getting married! I had no idea that was going to happen. My work in India were expecting me to go back after the holiday. That was back in 1983 and I’ve only been back to India twice since then. Once for my niece’s wedding and once after my father died. He actually died the same month that I was married. He didn’t want anyone to tell me he was ill, because he knew I’d come back and it would spoil my wedding. He had a heart attack, but I think he knew something was wrong. He said to my family, if anything happens to me, don't tell Lucy. I didn’t know he had died until after I was married, but I went back to see his grave. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years after that, in my early 40s.
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I probably wouldn’t have found out if I had still been living in India. In Asian countries, we don’t have regular health checks. We only go to the doctor when we’re really ill. When I first came here, I didn’t go in for a check up, because I never had. But I ended up seeing a doctor for something else, she sent me for blood tests, and told me I had diabetes. On one hand, it was a surprise, because I had never really thought about diabetes. On the other hand, it shouldn’t have been a surprise as we eat so much sweet stuff in India. We love it! I love it! My doctor put me in touch with the Armadale branch of diabetes meetings and I went there for some time learning about how to manage my diabetes. I read all the pamphlets and all that stuff, but after a while I stopped going because I learned to manage it myself. I’ve done well since then. Sometimes my blood glucose gets a bit high, if I’m naughty. I haven’t had to change my diet that
much. I still eat Indian food, lots of rice and curry, but I eat Western and Chinese food too. I like to eat lots of vegetables. I’m lucky that I like to eat lots of different types of food. I have cousins who can't eat anything but Indian food. I’m happy with more variety in my diet, but the biggest change I’ve made is in portion size. I used to eat big portions, now I eat small portions. I’ve been a member of Diabetes WA for as long as I can remember. It’s good to know they’re there if I need support or if I really get in trouble with my self-management. I do pretty well. My doctor and I both know when I’ve been naughty. Right now, I’m trying to get my weight down again. That’s the only thing I need to work on. Do I have a strategy? Yes, I'm trying to reduce my weight by eating less and not eating any sweets! Lucy was talking to Myke Bartlett. This conversation has been condensed for clarity.
