Can you imagine losing your vision? Rebecca’s story.
Rebecca was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at eight years old. By the time she reached her twenties, floaters began to appear, affecting her vision.
Rebecca has shared her story with us, to support our campaign and express just how important early detection of eye damage is. Please read Rebecca’s story and if you are able, make a donation to this appeal, so we can continue to educate and raise awareness.
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in Aotearoa.
We want to turn the tide on this, so during Diabetes Action Month in November 2023 we embarked on a month of education and awareness of how serious this condition is – “Eyes on Diabetes”.
Advice from Rebecca to anyone with diabetes: Don’t miss your eye checks and keep your blood sugars in check!
Rebecca was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was eight years old. She was described as a ‘brittle diabetic’ meaning she had trouble controlling her diabetes. Her teenage years were especially difficult, and she reflects she did not always do the right things to look after herself and manage her diabetes. She got used to feeling unwell all the time.
Aged 25, Rebecca needed laser surgery to seal the vessels in her right eye to stop them from bleeding. She went on to have six surgeries in total, trying to save her eye, as well as cataract surgery on her ‘good eye’. But sadly at 27, Rebecca gradually lost vision completely in her right eye.
Over time, diabetes can damage the tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye. When this damage leads to vessels leaking fluid or blood – like in Rebecca’s case – it causes the condition diabetic retinopathy. This is a common complication of diabetes, affecting one in three people with the disease. If left untreated it can lead to permanently reduced vision or even blindness.
There may be no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, so it’s important everyone with diabetes has regular eye checks. Fortunately, when caught early, it can often be successfully treated – or prevented from becoming worse.
It’s vital that we raise awareness of this issue and offer support to those most at risk.
But we need your help to do this. Please help us raise $50,000 to achieve this mission.
Diabetes NZ is there for those who need support. Every day we receive calls from people around the country seeking advice, reassurance, and support in managing their diabetes. Your donation means we can be there on the end of the phone, or in person to help those in need.
Your donation will:
Provide resources such as our “Eye Health and Diabetes’’ pamphlet to educate people of the warning signs to look out for, and how to prevent diabetes eye damage.
Help fund a Diabetes Community Coordinator/ Kaiāwhina Mate Huka to connect with individuals one on one, and link them to the services they need, such as the Diabetes Retinal Screening Programme or an eye specialist.
Help fund calls to the 0800 DIABETES free phone line.
Enable Diabetes NZ to advocate for those with diabetes to empower them to lead healthy, active lives.
Everyone with diabetes is at risk of losing their vision, but this can be prevented with early detection and treatment. Rebecca says it can be frustrating to not have vision in her eye – she can’t go snowboarding with her husband as her depth perception is affected. But she is grateful she can still do most things such as driving a car and has her independence.
If you are experiencing issues with your vision or have any concerns, please visit diabetesactionmonth.org.nz for more information or call us on 0800 342 238.
Your donation will help us to provide resources to help educate people with diabetes about eye damage prevention.