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VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2011
DIABETES PERSONALITY
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
Two diabetic children who, with help from Sr Beckert, have
managed to control their diabetes.
Sr Beckert and Dr Bernard with some of the teenagers at a youth
leaders’ training camp.
Treating children with diabetes as normal children is essential in
teaching them that this is a condition, not an illness. They are then
able to manage it better.
absolutely devastated to find out they have diabetes. I underscore,
however, that with the right tools – in the form of knowledge and med-
ication – diabetes can be controlled, and that it is a condition rather
than an illness.’
Diabetes Awareness Week, which takes place during the week of
14 November each year, offers Sr Beckert a platform to reach 200 to
400 individuals per day, of whom approximately 20% are newly diag-
nosed diabetics. ‘I’m committed to promoting awareness of diabetes
and the importance of going for screening’, she says. To this end she
also gives talks at schools and hands out a bookmark-like card that lists
the warning signs of diabetes. There was a case of one little girl who
took the card home and asked her mother, ‘is this what’s wrong with
me?’ ‘When she came to my practice, she had a blood glucose reading
of 28 mmol/l. She essentially diagnosed herself, because she had been
given the knowledge to do so’, says Sr Beckert.
Being a DNE is a vocation that comes with both rewards and chal-
lenges. Major challenges include a constant shortage of support staff
and lack of funding in the face of an ever-growing diabetic population.
‘But these are outweighed by the rewards of being able to make a
meaningful difference in patients’ lives, supporting them as best I can
to make the changes necessary to manage and take ownership of their
condition.’
Sr Beckert has a particular passion for children and for the past
nine years has run a diabetes camp that draws children from further
afield than her usual area of practice. She recalls an especially reward-
ing case of a child from Vredendal on the west coast, whose family
didn’t want him to go to hospital. She and Dr Bernard worked with him
and, with a basal-bolus regimen, lowered his HbA
1c
level from 11.9 to
9%. The introduction of an insulin pump lowered this still further to
6.2%. During this period, the patient also lost 14 kg. ‘It was a won-
derful experience to watch this plump 10-year-old become a fit and
well-controlled person with diabetes. Today he is a mentor and youth
leader at the camps, using his own experience to help other children
with diabetes to achieve similar results.’
A nine-month-old from Heidelberg was another memorable pae-
diatric case for Sr Beckert. ‘Today, he is seven years old, his diabetes
is controlled and he has never been back in hospital. This testifies to
what is achievable – but it requires a team approach, involving nurses,
doctors and dieticians, as well as the support of the child’s parents and
teachers. It’s important to make sure that the latter are informed and
empowered to support the child with diabetes.’
‘We need to get the message out there when it comes to diabetes
awareness’, she concludes. ‘I always encourage the people to whom I
speak, to tell two other people. If each of these in turn tells two more,
the multiplication effect of this will ensure that we succeed.’
‘As a medical professional, it is a privilege to work daily with and
serve men, woman and children, the pinnacle of God’s creation.’
Peter Wagenaar, Gauteng correspondent
