Our 3rd Conference speaker has confirmed

We have our third speaker confirmed for Thrive-abetes; Thrive with Type 1 Diabetes Conference. 

Drum roll please!!!! Helena Farrell from Diabetes Insight will discuss Diabetes Burnout with our group of adults with type 1 Diabetes. 

Helena Farrell is originally from Charleville, Co. Cork, but now is married and lives in Bandon Co. Cork. She graduated as a registered general nurse from Cork University Hospital in January 2000, where she began her working life as a staff nurse in a general medical ward in the CUH, which specialised in diabetes.

During her time on this ward, Helena gained many qualifications in lifestyle management such as nutritional therapy, addiction studies, psychotherapy to name a few. After five years on the Diabetes ward she transferred to the Diabetes Day Care Centre in the CUH where she worked as a Nurse Educator, gaining experience on the many aspects of diabetes education.

In September 2006, Helena left the CUH after ten years, to take a career break. But not for long, as during this time she was approached by Dr. Sheila O’Sullivan, Consultant Physician, to establish a private diabetes service in Shanakiel Hospital, Cork, which has gone from strength to strength and is now independently based from the Cork Health & Lifestyle Centre, Blackrock, Cork and is known as Diabetes Insight.

Diabetes Insight provides a number of services in many different areas such as Dietary Planning for Type 1 & 2 Diabetes and Psychological Supports using Life Coaching and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

For further information on Diabetes Insight's services please click here

Thrive-abetes Progress; February

As we move forward into March, Thrive-abetes look set to be a sure thing.

iCrowdfund.ie raised a whopping €930! Congratulations to everyone who helped by posted on social media and most of all donated.

A special thank you to One Direct Insurance, Ailbe's Pump Pouches, Insulcheck and Members First Credit Union for their generous contributions.

We have 7 Confirmed exhibitors and are looking to fill only three more spaces.

Our shortfall in our funding commitment has been reduced to €2,000. Yaaayyy!!!

The hunt for venue possibilities is ON and will announce those details next month.

We are getting ready to Thrive with Type 1 Diabetes at Thrive-abetes!

Thrive-abetes; has the potential to nourish empowerment!

Why I Need Thrive-abetes to Happen.

by Rebecca Flanagan.

Rebecca on the right, her eldest  daughter now aged 14 on the left.

It was a Friday in February, my husband and I were at a book launch in Dublin, leaving our 2 daughters at my sister-in-law’s in Co. Clare, where we live. When we returned the next day, my sister in law mentioned the symptoms that she knew were associated with Type 1 diabetes. The symptoms that my 7 year old first born was showing – extreme thirst, frequent urination, lethargy. It hit my like a ton of bricks. My father has type 1 for almost 40 years but I never knew the onset symptoms. I was so, so sad and had so much guilt. My poor baby had been telling me she didn't feel good for some time but I couldn't see anything wrong with her. This guilt is still present at times, and that was 7 years ago.

We now have 3 daughters, our eldest is an amazing teenager living with type 1 diabetes. It can be hard at times – knowing that she will live with this condition her entire life. It can be frightening if you allow yourself to think of the complications that can occur. It can be heartbreaking watching all the finger prick tests and injections she has to do, all the constant monitoring, and of course the wishing, as her mother, that I could take it all away and make it better – but I can’t!

What I can do, is try to keep positive for her sake. I need to keep educating myself in order to give her the best there is in managing her disease. I need to encourage her as much as possible so that she is empowered and able to move on from being a child with diabetes and become an adult with diabetes. This also means I need to be able to give her the space to do this – probably the most difficult part for me!

A conference like "Thrive-abetes" has the potential for this empowerment to be nourished. I believe that meeting other parents, and even other adults, with type 1 diabetes is fundamental in understanding this disease and seeing how others cope with some aspects that we may find difficult, and maybe being able to help others with aspects we excel at that they may find challenging. A conference like this can be a huge motivational platform when there is very little other support out there.

The clinic appointments and meetings with nurses and doctors are always very clinical, and there is no psychological support available which specializes in the effects that a chronic illness can have on a child, adolescent or adult – none in our geographical area anyway. "Thrive-abetes" has the opportunity to fill some of this void and I sincerely hope that everyone can get behind us and help us get this off the ground. I know that it will hugely benefit myself and other parents of children with type 1 diabetes.

Thanks Rebecca for sharing your story with us.

If you would like to help make "Thrive-abetes" happen for people with Type 1 Diabetes, please make a €5 donation to our campaign or post the link below in your social media; https://www.icrowdfund.ie/campaigns/thrive-abetes-thrive-with-type-1-diabetes-conference/