I was diagnosed at the age of 12 after experiencing many of the tell-tale signs of diabetes for months prior (i.e. weight loss, persistent lethargy and thirst, ants around the toilet). Due to diabetic ketoacidosis and severely dehydrated blood stemming from the consistently high blood sugars I had, I was hospitalised for around 4 days while being kept on a saline drip and was taught how to manage my blood sugars moving forward.

I remember feeling scared after hearing it was a chronic condition with no cure, while I also had to live with insulin injections for life while having a phobia of needles at the time (it took me a few months to have the confidence to inject by myself). Being a Primary 6 kid however, I remembered my main concern after the needles was studying for PSLE, as all of this occurred at the start of the year. Thankfully, I received a ton of support from my family, friends, and teachers from my primary school. Having learnt that my diet had to change drastically to suit my new lifestyle better, my immediate and extended family switched to eating with brown rice and lower glycemic index options so everyone could eat healthier. My school allowed me to study from home for a month after hospitalisation so I could adjust to my new way of living. I’ll always be grateful to my teachers who came to visit me and checked in on me. My endocrinologist was also very patient in teaching me how to dose my insulin injections and made sure I was able to independently manage my blood sugars.

One external form of support that I appreciated having during my early years with diabetes, came from joining TOUCH Diabetes Support, recommended to me by my endocrinologist. I met many individuals living with different forms of diabetes and learnt many useful tips from them on how to live a more fulfilling life with diabetes. One of the tips was living an active lifestyle. That encouraged me to take up a more active CCA in secondary school, which ended up being Wushu. I was glad I decided to try out Wushu because not only was it fun and rewarding, I was also able to better manage my blood sugars with the greater activity level I was having per week.

In hopes that there could be other ways to treat or even cure diabetes, my mom tried many home remedies and TCM that showed some promise based on hearsay. Some of my teachers and neighbors also recommended my parents and I to try these alternatives having heard stories that they worked for others: e.g. drinking okra extract daily, eating more dragonfruit, cooking TCM herbs selected by a TCM practitioner in Malacca weekly just to name a few. Although none of these alternatives ended up treating or curing my diabetes, I appreciated and felt touched that my loved ones were trying to help me in anyway they could.