Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month, I had the absolute privilege of meeting with an 11-year-old boy who lives in my electorate. His name is Dexter Welsh, and he has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He came into my office with his mother to tell me not only what his story was but what they would like us to do as parliamentarians to support those who are living with type 1 diabetes.

Let me start by talking a little bit about Dexter's story. It is actually described in quite a lot of detail on the Diabetes Australia website, and I would encourage everyone to go have a look at that website and read some of the stories that are there. What Dexter says is that one particular Sunday he had a really good thickshake with ice cream and all the toppings, but then he pretty much passed out on the couch. That night, his parents noticed that he had lost a lot of weight, and they started to reflect on just how much water he had been drinking, so they took him to the local GP the next day. The GP did some tests. He did a two-finger test but couldn't get a number, so they were sent to the emergency department at Tweed Valley Hospital, and it was there that he was diagnosed. His blood glucose level was sitting at about 44, his ketones were high and effectively he was in ketoacidosis. It was so difficult, he tells me, for the doctors even to be able to get a line into his veins because of how much weight he had lost.

Since his diagnosis, he has been able to access a pump that delivers the correct dosage that he needs so he's not having to inject himself every single day. He's living a very full life. To be honest, when he came into my electorate office he looked particularly well and healthy, and it was hard to imagine the struggle that he had gone through, because he's coping so well. But he and his mother are now effectively on a mission to make sure that they raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and its effects, particularly on young people, and to talk to local members of parliament about some of the costs that are associated with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

In my electorate of McPherson, there are currently about 750 people who are living with type 1 diabetes, but it's also estimated that there are more than 150 people in McPherson who are living with type 1 diabetes but are yet to be diagnosed with it. The financial burden is significant. In my electorate alone, it is roughly $18.4 million annually. What Dexter is calling for is much more support, and I support his call.