What the Coronavirus Situation has meant for me - by Mark Straw
As many of you will know I have had Type 1 Diabetes for over 50 years. Inevitably when we first heard of this new virus in February I was concerned at the impact on my health, however perhaps I was lucky in that I had my annual Diabetes review with my Consultant on 11 March. I asked him whether I should be worried and he reassured me that, partly due to the fact that I was physically fit, as long as I washed my hands regularly and social distanced, I was at no greater risk.
The major effect the lockdown had was the curtailment of all my sporting activities. No swimming training, no badminton, no group cycle rides and a choice of only one outdoor exercise per day. In my particular case, my Diabetes control has relied on a very active lifestyle and without it my blood sugars soon started to rise to unacceptable levels. Walking the dogs on one day and a solo bike ride on the next did help but inevitably I did have to increase my insulin intake and reduce my carbohydrate levels. The latter was no bad thing as I have lost weight.
I have always been keen to keep up to date with the latest developments and with my daughter working in a hospital in New Zealand since December, I was clearly concerned with her safety. I therefore watched two sets Coronavirus daily broadcasts. What I found was the staggering difference between the two nations, what I increasingly saw was quick and decisive action in NZ, compared to bluster and bravado in GB. Interestingly NZ is now on level one alert, which means life is fully back to normal, with the exception of continued hand washing, a fully operational “track and trace system” and quarantine for arrivals into the country. I will say no more. Whilst still in NZ my daughter regularly talked to her friends at her previous hospital, Alder Hey in Liverpool. What she was clearly being told was that the NHS was under a huge amount of strain. She then took the decision in early April to try and get back to the UK, to help here. Not as easy as it sounds, with flights booked and then cancelled at the last minute. Thankfully she is now back in England and has secured a new job at a London hospital and will hopefully soon be back in the operating theatre helping patients here.
In terms of risk to us as Diabetics, I was very pleased to read an article written by Diabetes UK – part of article below:
"if you have diabetes – regardless of what type you have – you are no more likely to catch coronavirus than anyone else. And the majority of people who do get coronavirus – whether they have diabetes or not – will have mild symptoms and don’t need to go into hospital."
This I found much more reassuring compared to articles in the press which as usual tended to sensationalise news without a balanced approach. Not that I think there is no risk and I do still wash my hands regularly, social distance and luckily for me my wife can go out to shop.
Holiday wise, whilst a planned trip to NZ has now been cancelled, I have only missed out on a cycle tour to France in April. Never mind, there is always next year.
Bearing in mind that without my sporting activities I had some spare time, I volunteered to help with a scheme to make phone calls to either elderly people or people living on their own. We are basically checking that they are ok and that they have support if needed. In addition, we check that they are aware of relevant local contact information. Our group have already chatted to over 40,000 people since the start. For example, last Monday night, I spoke to a 93 year old who was very chipper, a keen gardener and having his son visit and help him and deliver food to him. I spent 15 minutes chatting to him and I came away awe inspired, thinking that if I get to 93, I hope I’m as mentally upbeat and as happy as he was. We have found that a large proportion of people we talk to are OK and have friends or family to help them. Where people need help, we have a range of more local groups/ councils who can step in and supply face to face assistance. It has been a marvellous experience and just shows that as a nation we can come together to help others.
On my sporting activity front, I was so pleased when we could meet up with 5 other non-household friends to exercise outside. I’m now back doing group rides with my friends, its so much nicer to talk to someone in real life, than what can be an unnatural conversation on “Zoom”. Having said that “Zoom” has been a godsend, Zoom land training, Zoom quizzes etc etc. I have even driven to the lake at Reading and swum for the first time in 11 weeks. Boy my shoulders hurt on my first outing, but I’m pleased to say after my third I’m once again swimming fast. It’s a shame all competitions have been cancelled for 2020. However It is lovely to be back swimming.
Anyhow, please keep smiling. As a category of medical conditions, we can be as healthy as the next person.