Reader's Corner

I was born on the 8th of June 1949, the eldest of a brood of seven Mangalorean D'Cunhas, who arrived in rapid succession. Not one of my siblings are diabetic. Neither were my parents.

Since my father had a job as a weaving master for a mill in Bhavnagar, I was left as a toddler with my maternal grandmother. Elizabeth Rego, in Santa Cruz. I loved my granny with every shred of my small being. She was always there for me, saw to my creature comforts, my studies, my childhood ailments. She cherished me and I flourished.

The only problem I had as a baby was that whenever channe-ka-atta and egg were used on my skin or hair, or put in my food, I would break out into hives.

Granny soon worked out that it was an allergy, and I learned to stay away from them, and actually felt nervous whenever I so much as encountered one.

However, when I was 10 granny, who was a nurse, noticed that I had lost a whole lot of weight. What's more, I was so tired all the time that I'd drop off to sleep in class. And I'd drink water incessantly. Could this be the reason, that I had to rush to the toilet at recess and would wet my panties if I didn’t make it in time? I would wonder red-faced. Worse still, I'd wake up in the morning in a bed of urine. A big girl like me, whatever is happening to me?

Dr. Chhaya sent me to the renowned paediatrician N.D. Tibrewalla at Bombay Hospital. Dr. Tibrewalla decided to admit me for a month for observation and treatment, and since this was in the middle of the summer holidays I didn't have to miss out on school. My parents and siblings returned to Bombay and I actually enjoyed all the attention. The injections and blood tests were unpleasant, but I soon realised that less fuss means less pain.

Granny, who had stayed pliant by my side for the month, wanted me back for my birthday which she always celebrated with much fanfare. Whatever granny wanted, granny got. Dr. Tibrewalla obliged and I returned to an excited family in time to cut my eleventh birthday cake - which I didn't taste, not because of the sugar content but because of my egg allergy.

I was a juvenile Diabetic with Insulin Dependent Diabetes (IDD). In Diabetes Mellitus (sugar diabetes), the pancreas' cells are completely destroyed and no insulin is produced in the body. The hormone insulin helps to metabolize the food that is eaten and regulates the sugar in the blood, so without it these things can't happen.

I would be dependent on injected insulin for the rest of my life, unlike older diabetics who can use tablets. As I grew I would need more and more insulin, not because it is habit forming, but to replace the insulin that is not being formed in my pancreas. Diabetes can't be cured, but it can be controlled. No one is sure what causes it, but it was conjectured that my condition was triggered off by a viral infection, probably mumps. When I recovered from mumps my body created antibodies to the mumps virus to protect me from further attacks. These had destroyed the insulin manufacturing beta cells in my pancreas, causing my auto immune system to go haywire. This doesn't happen as a rule; I was just one of the vulnerable minority. I had to take injections of two kinds of insulin half an hour before lunch and dinner; my urine had to be tested three times a day and the dosage had to be adjusted accordingly. If the sugar level is too high or too low I could have problems. To create the optimum blood sugar level, the insulin has to be balanced with a proper diet and regular exercise.

I was given a diet of 2 slices of bread with 1/2 oz (14 gms) of butter, a cup of milk, a banana, and a juicy fruit for breakfast; 1/4 lb (around 113 gms) meat or fish, a cup of soup, 4 chappatis, dal, veggies, 4 oz (112 gms) curd, and a salad for lunch; a cup of tea and 2 biscuits at 5 p.m., 4 oz (112 gms) rice, dal, veggies, 4 oz curd, and 2 chappatis for dinner. This doesn't sound like a diet of deprivation, does it? Except that sweets, ice cream, and fried snacks were taboo; and I always had to eat in time.

My parents and siblings shifted back to Bombay where Daddy took up another job as weaving master. It was great to have a large noisy family again.

Before the new term started granny informed the principal and Std.IV class teacher of Sacred Heart School that I was diabetic. They were cautioned to watch out for hypoglycaemia or a low sugar reaction like dizziness, dim vision, irritability, or flaking out - when the insulin injection lowers the blood sugar and the body is not sufficiently nourished to raise it. I would need sugar or a sweet to revert to normal.

Nobody made me feel that I was ill or suffering from an incurable disease, which is remarkable for 40 years ago, when there were no support groups. I'm sure that granny and mummy must have had worried talks wondering "Will she get married? Will she finish school?" but not a single niggle was transmitted to me. Nobody spoke of kidney failure and blindness either. I remained as happy-go-lucky and as affable as ever.

At eleven, I also started menstruating and my periods came with clockwork regularity ever after. I was fortunate. I have started menopausing this year, very gradually and uneventfully.

I was put under the treatment of diabetologist Motilal Dhirwani, who was an honorary physician at the KEM hospital. Imagine, I only had two attacks of hypoglycaemia while I was a schoolgirl.

The first one was when I was 12 and getting ready for school, with a cup of tea in my hand. Granny came into the room to find me slumped down with the tea spilled on the floor. With great presence of mind she summoned a neighbouring doctor to give me glucose intravenously, and I recovered. The attack had taken place probably because I hadn't eaten sufficiently the day before.

Again, when I was 15 and at a party, I found that my tongue seemed to be thick and the words wouldn't emerge from my mouth. My best friend, Rekha Wagh, realised this and gave me something to eat. After which I relaxed and enjoyed myself.

Then I joined the secretarial course in the YWCA where nobody was told about my condition. It was a long day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with homemade sandwiches to sustain me. But by this time I was perfectly comfortable with my condition. I used to inject myself, monitor my sugar levels, and eat a spoonful of sugar if it felt low.