Jaden's Story

Jaden says there was a point in his life when he became tired of being dictated to by his health status. Having felt the burden of living with type 1 diabetes throughout his teenage years, he had lived in denial and felt limited by what he could do, saying there was never a time when he felt like a ‘normal’ young person. ‘I didn’t want to be different and so it become harder to manage my diabetes when I wasn’t mentally clear. I also hated being in the spotlight when I had to test my blood sugars.’ As a result of this stress, Jaden says he stopped playing sports, resenting that diabetes had become the main plot line in his life.

Life changed five years ago, just before Covid-19 hit, when Jaden decided to stop fighting and start educating himself on how to manage his condition. He immersed himself in reading all he could about insulin resistance. Then he followed it up with how to manage diabetes with diet and technology. Jaden came to the realisation that a change in his diet was key. Exit: his old way of eating. Enter: a plant-based and wholefood diet.

LOCKDOWN

During the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Jaden heard about the one-month trial of the Dexcom CGM and jumped at the chance to give it a go. Being a student, Jaden knew he wouldn’t be able to afford the ongoing expense but still wanted to give it a go.

He says he immediately felt better and more in control. ‘It acted like a stock take of my body, and I knew exactly what to do before I hit the curve! My blood sugars were more consistent because I could easily check all the time, and I began to understand the correlation between what I ate and how my blood sugars would react.’

He says he became addicted to feeling good. Now Jaden had the challenge of finding a way to keep CGMs in his life, an expense not everyone can afford. ‘I spoke with my family, and in the end it became a shared cost between me, my mum, and my grandparents. Something I will forever be grateful for.’

THE RECLAMATION OF TŌKU REO MĀORI

PHOTO © ERUERA WALKER.

The CGM allowed an ease of living, letting Jaden rediscover one of the most important parts of his life. ‘In 2021, I decided after I found the mental clarity and headspace that I would study te reo Māori.’ Despite not being brought up in te ao Māori as a child, Jaden says he has now found so many benefits in finding a deeper understanding of his culture.

‘It’s the mental and spiritual clarity that comes with rediscovering a part of you.’

This rediscovery has led Jaden down a path where he has become passionate about Māori and indigenous community development and finding ways to heal the multi-generation hurt that Māori have endured in the loss of their language.

In his third and final year of study, Jaden says he is looking forward to what mahi will come next.

‘I recently read that every decision you make in your daily life requires the same amount of neurological power no matter what the decision is, and people living with type 1 diabetes are constantly making choices about what to do next. So I am forever grateful that the Dexcom CGM has taken some of those decisions away from me, meaning I can use that extra brain power as a force for good!’

Jaden believes that CGMs came into his life when he really needed them, allowing him the headspace to really immerse himself in his course. ‘I live in hope that the subsidy will come to fruition in Aotearoa New Zealand so other people living with diabetes can experience what CGMs can do for them – and to help prevent long-term issues.’

First published in Diabetes Wellness Autumn 2024 edition.