Taming Diabetes: A Daily Challenge for Martin and His Family
Follow 8-year-old Martin and his family as they navigate daily life with type 1 diabetes, from meal adaptations to school activities, showing resilience and optimism.
"We organize ourselves," explain Claire and Olivier, the pragmatic parents of Martin, 8 years old, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 5. For this Belgian family from Soignies, adaptation has now become routine.
"You can eat and do everything, but not anytime," Claire often repeats to her son. At just 5 years old, Martin received a type 1 diabetes diagnosis that disrupted his family's daily life. Now 8 years old, he grows up surrounded by his parents, Claire and Olivier, and his older sister, in a house full of laughter, warmth, and resilience in Soignies, Belgium. "This was before the diagnosis announcement," Claire explains right away, pointing to a family photo in a frame in the hallway. "You see how he was thinner? And then here, it's just after during a trip to Rome following the announcement. And here, with his father, in the middle of the carnival with the Gilles of Morlanwelz."
His Mother's First Suspicions
It was Claire, a health education teacher, who quickly noticed the first symptoms in her son: weight loss, pale complexion, intense thirst, unexplained fatigue, nocturnal enuresis... "He drank up to a liter of water before sleeping!" his father details. "With my experience in awareness, I immediately thought of diabetes," she confides. A few days later, a blood test followed by emergency hospitalization in intensive care confirmed the illness affecting Martin.
Eating Everything, but Not Anytime
"The King of Diabetes"
The Challenge of Nights
Healthy Habits for the Future
But the daily challenges related to the disease do not diminish Claire and Olivier's optimism. "Research is advancing. We hope that one day, there will be a simpler treatment, like a medication. Especially for children," Olivier declares. And Claire concludes philosophically: "Somehow, I think that learning to live with this disease from childhood allows him to integrate healthy habits that will serve him for his entire life! It's a strength he will carry with him."
Living with T1D for 25 Years: Philippe's Inspiring Journey
At the dawn of his fifties, Philippe has tamed the diabetes he has lived with for over 25 years, along with his initial fear of injections. For him, this disease represents "a turning point, not an end." He leads a life "like everyone else," multiplying passions and fully enjoying every moment.
Need to identify risk of developing autoimmune type 1 diabetes? Test for autoantibodies!
Anti-islet autoantibodies that target proteins associated with beta-cells serve as biomarkers of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) development.1 The number of detectable autoantibodies through screening correlates with risk of developing autoimmune T1D.2 Assays for detecting autoimmune T1D have shown high sensitivity and specificity.3,4
Autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes
The Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) field is evolving.
Recognition of the presymptomatic stages in T1D is growing.1-4
The clinical benefits of early detection of T1D are being highlighted.3-4 Programmes focusing on early detection through testing and screening for presymptomatic autoimmune T1D are increasingly offered to risk populations and the general population.1,2
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