Holly Heinzelmann: CDE Forum Experience
As part of SA Diabetes Advocacy’s ongoing mission to ensure that people living with diabetes are included in diabetes related conferences, the CDE granted SA Diabetes Advocacy a few free passes for people living with diabetes to attend the CDE Forum which took place in October 2023. Holly Heinzelmann applied to attend the conference and received one of the free passes, below Holly shares her experience. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
“What can we do to position people with diabetes as, well… people in the eyes of medical practitioners and society alike?”
Holly Heinzelmann and Amanda Mashego at the CDE Forum.
“When Kirsten De Klerk, Co-Founder of SA Diabetes Advocacy, sent the link to put your name forward as a representative person with diabetes to attend the 2023 CDE forum, I acted immediately. Having studied genetics at university, living with type 1 diabetes and already having extensive experience in advocacy on account of my other disability, it was an amalgamation of all my interests. I knew I would learn an immense amount. And I did.
There are two main things I took away from the experience: First, diabetes does not exist in isolation. It exists in and affects all realms of a person’s life - even in relation to planetary health. Did you know that the instance of people with diabetes seeking medical attention increases as the temperature does? Dr Landau of the CDE group shared an anecdote which so aptly illustrated the interconnectedness of life with a diabetes diagnosis- A person admitted to hospital with complications related to diabetes was once so anxious to get home and feed his pup that he was begging for a discharge even though he was seriously ill. Even having a pet can influence diabetes management and choices. It is therefore imperative that healthcare professionals view diabetes as a condition which affects a human rather than focussing purely on statistics and numbers. Seemingly insignificant and unrelated events in a person living with diabetes life, actually have a HUGE influence over our well-being.
So my question is, what can we do to position people with diabetes as, well…people in the eyes of medical practitioners and society alike?
The second takeaway from the forum offers the answer: Have more representation in your meetings and forums and events relating to diabetes. Companies in the diabetes industry were invited to showcase their products during the forum. As a person living with type 1 diabetes, this was a huge opportunity to speak directly to the people who impact my diabetes journey with their products. I was given the chance to test out the new Dexcom G7 that weekend, for example. I was also able to give feedback to them, which will ultimately improve their products and in turn, our lives. The representative from the company which makes the glucometer I use, said to me that it was incredible to be able to speak to a user, as opposed to medical professionals who then speak to the user. There is an obvious disconnect between those who make the product and those who use it. There is thus, a desperate need for people living with diabetes to be present at events about their condition, to bridge that disconnect.
Overall, it was incredible weekend of learning and advocacy where one thing stayed true: there can be #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs!”
