At LJ Hooker Gladstone and LJ Hooker Boyne Tannum, giving back to our community is one of the values that defines who we are. Through our Community Investment Program, we proudly support organisations and causes that make a genuine difference in the lives of others.
This month, our focus is Type 1 Diabetes awareness and research, a cause that is deeply personal for our family.
One of the first things we learned was that Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition. It occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes, it is not caused by eating too much sugar, poor lifestyle choices or being overweight, and despite decades of research, there is still no cure.
We learned how to prick our little girl's fingers multiple times every day to monitor her blood sugar levels. We learned how to give her insulin injections several times a day in an attempt to keep those levels within a healthy range.
We learned the warning signs of hyperglycaemia (blood sugar that is too high), which requires insulin, and hypoglycaemia (blood sugar that is too low), which requires sugar immediately. Left untreated, either condition can become life-threatening.
Perhaps the hardest lesson was discovering that almost everything affects blood sugar levels—food, exercise, illness, stress, excitement, sleep, hot weather, cold weather and hormones. Many of these factors are impossible to predict or control, but you have to try.
From that day forward, diabetes became something that never left our minds.
As parents, we became permanently vigilant. We had to make sure every adult caring for Darcie understood diabetes and knew what to do in an emergency. It wasn't something we could ever switch off from.
Back then, we were told that a cure might only be ten years away.
We're still waiting.
Thankfully, while a cure hasn't yet arrived, incredible people and remarkable technology have transformed life for people living with Type 1 Diabetes.
We will always be grateful to Darcie's specialist team at the Mater Hospital, whose expertise and compassion guided our family through those early years. We were also incredibly fortunate to have wonderful teachers and teacher aides who embraced the responsibility of helping care for her at school, giving us confidence that she was safe whenever she wasn't with us.
When Darcie was around eight years old, insulin pump therapy for children was still in its early days in Queensland, and she was among the earliest children to receive one. It was life-changing—no more multiple daily injections. Since then, continuous glucose monitors, smartphones and advanced insulin pump technology have revolutionised diabetes management, making life safer, easier and giving families far greater peace of mind.
Today, Darcie is 27 years old.
She is healthy, thriving and living her best life as a lawyer in Brisbane.
Every milestone she has achieved has required a little more planning, a little more resilience and a little more determination because of Type 1 Diabetes. Like so many people living with this condition, she makes hundreds of decisions every single day that most of us never have to think about.
We couldn't be prouder.
Research into Type 1 Diabetes is advancing faster than ever before, and we continue to follow every breakthrough with hope. Scientists around the world are making significant progress in areas such as immune therapies, stem cell research and advanced technologies. While there is still no cure, we genuinely believe we are closer than ever before.
If you know someone living with Type 1 Diabetes, please take a moment to check in on them.
Tell them they're doing an incredible job.
Because behind every insulin dose, every blood sugar check, every sensor alarm and every careful food choice is someone working extraordinarily hard simply to stay alive.
This month, our Community Investment Program proudly supports Type 1 Diabetes awareness and research.
Every property bought, sold or managed through LJ Hooker Gladstone and LJ Hooker Boyne Tannum helps us support important causes that make a real difference in our community. Thank you to our clients for helping us give back.
If you'd like to learn more about Type 1 Diabetes, support research or better understand what families live with every day, these organisations are a wonderful place to start:
Type 1 Foundation Australia – A national charity supporting individuals and families living with Type 1 Diabetes, providing care packages for newly diagnosed families, community events and awareness campaigns.
https://www.type1foundation.com.au
Breakthrough T1D Australia (formerly JDRF Australia) – Australia's leading organisation funding Type 1 Diabetes research, advocacy and support.
https://breakthrought1d.org.au
Diabetes Australia – Information about Type 1 Diabetes, symptoms, management and support services.
https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au
Mater Hospital Brisbane – Information about specialist diabetes care and services.
https://www.mater.org.au
Together, we can continue to support those living with Type 1 Diabetes while holding onto hope that one day no family will ever have to hear the life-changing words:
"Your child has Type 1 Diabetes."