HYDERABAD: “I had to face many naysayers all my life due to my condition, but I fought on. I wanted to show them that anything is possible,” said 25-year-old Brais Dacal, a professional cyclist from Spain, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was seven years old. Now, Brais is on a mission to spread awareness on diabetes and remove the stigma surrounding the condition.
Brais is the ambassador of Team Novo Nordisk, a group of diabetic athletes who have taken part in major cycling tournaments around the world. Novo Nordisk Education Foundation (NNEF) is a non-profit organisation established in 1997 with the purpose of increasing diabetes awareness and education.
On the sidelines of International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD 2018, which was held in the city recently, Brais met children with diabetes in the city. Talking about his team, Brais said that there were six professional riders and 10 development riders. Novo Nordisk organises talent identification camps for diabetic children between 12-18 years. They are invited to show their talent and a few of them are chosen to be part of the cycling team.
In Hyderabad, Brais visited four Changing Diabetes in Children (CDiC) centres run by NNEF and interacted with the children there. He went to Osmania Hospital, Gandhi Hospital Tapadia Diagnostics, and Diabetes Research Society.
Dr PV Rao, director of Diabetes Research Society, said, “A recent report in The Lancet has busted some myths about the incidence of diabetes in India. Contrary to popular belief that Type 2 Diabetes is more prevalent among South Indians, it was found that more people from North India were diagnosed with the disease. A study by ICMR showed that a large number of people even in rural areas have Type 2 Diabetes. Equal number of men and women were found to be affected, though earlier it was believed that men were at a higher risk.”
Talking about CDiC centres, Rao said: “We were not happy with the way the government was taking care of children with diabetes. This is why the CDiC centres were started by Novo Nordisk to provide insulin injections, glucose strips and conduct tests for children below 18 years who are from BPL families. I have 400 children in my centre. It costs Rs 20,000 per person per year. There are 4,000 children across 21 centres in India.”
Sharing tips with children who have been diagnosed with diabetes, Brais said: “Keep checking your blood sugar. Always be in touch with your medical team, and never ever believe that diabetes will stop you from achieving what you want.”
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) released the eighth edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas on World Diabetes Day 2017 which said that one in 11 adults has diabetes and one in every two adults with diabetes is undiagnosed. 72.9 million are living with diabetes currently and it is expected to grow up to 134.3 million by 2045. It is also estimated that India alone has over 70,000 cases of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.