Liam Scheurkogel checks his blood sugar before having dinner to make sure his levels are where they need to be.
The new and difficult challenges that type one diabetes brings can seem daunting and overwhelming to some families.
But for one family, they were able to take most of the changes type one diabetes can bring in stride.
Having a child diagnosed with type one diabetes can be a scary thing for some families to deal with.
Liam Scheurkogel was diagnosed with type one diabetes when he was eight years old. This diagnosis came as a bit of surprise to Liam and his mother Teresa Wall.
But Wall says the difficulty of dealing with type one diabetes lessened as they got more comfortable with the process.
“It was all brand new and I was like, wow, we have to do this for the rest of our lives! But as time went on it gets easier for sure.”
Wall says the most difficult part of her son’s diabetes is that it fluctuates daily.
“Every day is different. No two days are the same. There could be activities that he’s doing or he’s not feeling well. Everything and anything can affect his blood sugars and the way his body absorbs the insulin. Every day is unpredictable.”
Liam has been able to live a normal life despite his diabetes. The only thing making him different than the other kids you see running around outside is that Liam gets tested a minimum of four times a day and that he has to be more aware of what he eats.
If he does those two things, Liam can live his life just like his peers. He continues to be an active kid that enjoys dirt biking and playing football and is able to live his life to the fullest.
And Liam is able to go through his daily tests with less pain now that he has a new device that doesn’t require the old method of pricking his finger and that is something that he is happy about.
Liam says another thing he likes about his new device is that it doesn’t take nearly as long to test his levels.
“I like this device because when I had to prick my finger, sometimes it would take more than five minutes because there were times that it didn’t read properly the first attempt.”
Liam’s new device uses a scanning system that is able to check the blood sugar levels without the patient needing to draw blood. This new system is able to provide people like Liam with accurate results quicker and more comfortably.
With this new device, Liam is able to get back to being the active kid he wants to be without waiting for results.
Liam is determined to not let his diabetes affect him.
Having diabetes is a daily battle, for many Canadians like Liam. But with new devices and further improvements, the battle is becoming easier to win.