Bindi Sunderland has vowed to never let her diabetes control her again.
For 15 years, she felt as though her type two diagnosis had sent her into hiding, not wanting to ask for help.
But troubles after ankle surgery and the prospect of losing her leg changed everything.
And she hopes it will change the minds of those in her Aboriginal community as well.
“I’m the type of person who won’t ask for help because I want to do it on my own, but with this I had to,” Bindi said.
“I know there’s a lot of people in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that do the same thing, but it needs to change.”
Despite a blood test confirming her diagnosis, Bindi said she wasn’t in the right headspace to make the changes needed.
“I didn’t have it under control, I was in denial. I was doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted,” she said.
“I went on tablets about six months after and that helped a bit, but it still wasn’t under control.
“I know I should have got help sooner, but it wasn’t until there was a chance I may need my leg amputated, that I got it under control.”
After finding a cyst on her ankle, Bindi underwent surgery, but her recovery didn’t go the way it was planned.
While on a trip down from Queensland to Bendigo, her stitches broke and soon she had an infected ankle.
A few trips to Bendigo Health set her on the right track, but that scare made her seriously consider her health decisions.
“I know there’s a lot of stories about when you’re dealing with diabetes, if things aren’t taken care of, you can lose limbs and that got to me,” Bindi said.
“I was so scared of losing my leg.”
Bindi began seeing Diabetes Educator Wendy Collins, who was able to set her on the right track.
Since then, she “religiously” takes her medication and insulin every morning and is able to keep track of her levels with a continuous glucose monitor.
“My health is looking up,” she said.
“I have more control over my diabetes, if I don’t control my life with my diabetes, no one else will.”
Wendy said the “collaborative relationship” she is able to have with Bindi and others is a big part of success.
“Bindi has good goals that go towards improving her health and that’s so important,” she said.
“It shows that level of involvement you need.
“It’s important to for patients to keep up their regular monitoring, education, maximising glucose control as it improves overall health outcomes and liaising with health services as much as possible.”
To discover more about the latest in life saving technology or meet with a diabetes educator, an information session will take place in the Bendigo Hospital atrium from 10am until 3pm on Wednesday, 17 July.
Learn more here: https://bendigohealth.org.au/DiabetesEducationService/