Kate's Kokoda Trek for Type 1 Diabetes

This August I’m taking on one of the most gruelling hikes in the Southern hemisphere…

The Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea spanning over 96km of mountainous terrain.

Here is why…

I am doing the Kokoda trek not only for my daughter with Type 1 Diabetes, but to express my gratitude towards a foundation that only a mother/father or family member who experiences a child newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes can truly appreciate and understand.

OUR STORY

When my daughter Taya was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2018, my world changed. The day we were sent to emergency, my husband too was already admitted to the same hospital. Just months prior he was diagnosed with terminal lung disease.

Her world became my world. On a daily basis, hour by hour, it has been about keeping her alive and ensuring she is healthy and that will never stop. All whilst putting on a brave face and being positive, on the surface that is.

But now my mind has shifted and it's time to allow others in and time for others to learn to take care of her without me.

This will be the first time without contact with my Type 1 Diabetic daughter and for 10 days straight! The trek as hard and gruelling as it will be, will be nothing to the struggle I will feel being unaware and not in control of her care.

My husband was diagnosed with his condition only months before Taya’s diagnosis. Depression set in early after his diagnosis, and I felt he had enough to handle so when Taya was diagnosed soon after, I put it on myself to be in control of her care.

I have struggled to communicate and struggled with emotions, I’ve been unsure what is the right thing to do or to feel, each day is like walking over cobblestones hoping for the best. Perhaps this has been preparing me for Kokoda, as Kokoda will be no different.

I am now at a point where I can own this, I want to help others and know no matter what the future can be bright.

My circumstance as unique as it is, it doesn’t need to be a sad one. I don’t need sympathy, I need support!

DON’T BE BLINDSIDED…

What most don't understand is that at anytime my circumstance could be you.

You could be right now unknowingly noticing the symptoms… Is your child more tired than normal? Is your child going to the toilet more often? Has their thirst increased? Have you noticed a rapid weight loss?

These are the 4 simple, yet major signs of Type 1 Diabetes. For us, in less than a week, our daughter Taya at the age of 5 had lost almost 7kg, she was lethargic and constantly thirsty and the increased trips to the toilet were real.

Coming into Summer and being the last week of prep we initially put it down to being the end-of-year exhaustion and heat. I remember reaching out to her teacher asking if she had noticed her going to the toilet more often concerned with a UTI at that point, and listening to her going to the toilet, but was clear she was urinating normally, just far more frequently.

It is these signs which now seem so simple, that detect early diagnosis.

The diagnosis which prevents and unfortunately happens too often, especially in our children is misdiagnosis resulting in death by Ketoacidosis. And this is all pre-diagnosis.

What come next post-diagnosis?? Well here is a simple way of seeing it ...

Taya is only 9, she was diagnosed at 5. During these 4 years alone she has had at least 15,000 finger pricks and 7,500 insulin injections. To top it off it has been estimated that life with type 1 diabetes requires an additional 180 health-related decisions per day - you can only imagine where my head's space is.

For now, this is forever, it is incurable, however, hope for a cure is always something we hope for on the horizon.

Too many people look on without understanding and believe it is something that could be reversed or could have been avoided. Too often people unknowingly think Type 1 Diabetes is similar to Type 2 Diabetes, misunderstandings like this are why I want to create this awareness of Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes can and unfortunately will happen to anyone. And for us parents, it is more apparent in children, however not limited to kids as I am all too aware of with my dad being diagnosed at 46, some 28 years ago. I still vividly remember this time, and I was just 8.

For now, they still say it’s not genetic, it’s hard to understand that when it’s so prevalent in our family.

Where your support & donations are going:

The Type1 Foundation is a not-for-profit charity that provides support for families when a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes occurs. The support is around the concept of ‘right here, right now’, in the moment of diagnosis and what is needed for that family to survive and most of all thrive. It’s the ‘human element’ of support of a diagnosis of this lifelong disease that we received. A cure is the ultimate, but living with it daily is the reality.

Support and connection of Type 1 families is something that drives the Type 1 Foundation. A diagnosis of a lifelong disease comes with so many strong emotions – isolation, fear and constant worry, just to name a few.

The Type 1 Foundation aims to support the family through this difficult time and change the ‘feeling of focus’ to community awareness and support by raising awareness of Type 1 Diabetes through education in schools, medical practices and the wider community.

Their core purpose is to support, connect and advocate for children, adults and their families. They even provide support and connect families living with this chronic disease through large-scale events and various programs.

The passion behind the mission is driven by the motivation to support the emotional journey of Type 1 families. It is most definitely a whole family challenge and we are very much aware of other fabulous charities for Type1 Diabetes, but there is not one out there with a sole focus on connection, care and support.

Building a strong and tight Type 1 network can most definitely create not only awareness within the wider community, but also much-needed connection and crucial support for families to set them up for these life challenges.

“Emotional support of families with Type 1 is the glue that will stick them together forever. This disease has no current cure, but we can most definitely put our focus on what is achievable and our passion to support our Type 1 families through their journey is our number one goal!”

-Ange Liston-McCaughley CEO T1F

HOW YOU CAN HELP ...

The countdown has commenced and I am passionately calling out to anyone who can help support me through this time. Whether it be emotional, monetary or physical/personable donations to get me there in tip-top shape.

To any local businesses or individuals who can and want to support me from now until Kokoda please reach out to me! I need you! In return, I will be documenting my journey on my socials so come along with me as I take on a journey of a lifetime all to raise money for The Type 1 foundation.

To those dear to me …

I’m sorry to those who I have pushed away, and ignored over the recent years … I can’t explain it, other than when you have nothing positive to say don't say a thing.… well that’s been me for some time.

I haven’t wanted to burden anyone with my headspace and now something has clicked. That ‘something' is my daughters, my husband and finally for once myself.

You know who you are. Please know you do mean the world to me. Know that every message is heard even though I haven’t had the guts to reply.

I appreciate you. I am sorry.

I’m hoping this is my time. My time to make an impact. My time to finally speak up.

My time to ask for your help. My time to see clearly. And my time to relate to others. I know I’m not alone. For I wish my circumstance was unique, but I know that it’s not. There are others who struggle as I do daily and right now I am throwing this out to the world to embrace me and I’m here to embrace you!

So what is it I want to get out of this:

1. Raise funds for a foundation, that provides ongoing support to families and individuals affected by this disease.

2. Reconnect with you.

3. Grow internally.

4. Embrace myself.

5. Look forward to our tomorrow x

Instagram & Facebook @kokoda2023kate