Diabetic teen opens his heart about the disease
Campaign educates community about dangers of diabetes
The non-profit organisation Power Up hosted a diabetes awareness campaign at Assemblies of God Fellowship (AGF) Church Winnie Mandela Zone 5 branch on November 16.
Power Up was founded by Kabelo Kabe, a teenager who has been living with type 1 diabetes for five years. The organisation falls under the auspices of Assemblies of God Fellowship Church.
The organisation aims to raise awareness of diabetes within communities, targeting individuals with diabetes as well as those without the disease.
Kabelo wants to spread the message that diabetes is manageable, but people must have themselves tested for this dangerous disease at their public health facilities.
“At first I was also in the dark about this disease. There are many symptoms that led me to discover that I am diabetic. These include sluggishness, blurred vision and a constant thirst,” said Kabelo.
“Finding out that you have diabetes isn’t the end of the world. There are many people who have been living with the condition for many years. One such person is the TV personality, actor and musician Tshepo Mosese, famously known as Howza, who is currently acting in the TV drama Scandal as Lerumo,”
Kabelo said that type 1 diabetes used to be known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, which is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.
“Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults. Despite active research, type 1 diabetes has no cure. Treatment focuses on managing blood sugar levels with insulin and diet. Type 2 is the more lethal of the two.
“Statistics prove that type 2 diabetes kills more than type 1 one because it can easily lead to heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, high blood pressure and nerve damage,” said Kabelo.
He said he was grateful to his loving and supportive friends, family and church mates.
Kabelo’s mother, Suzan Noko Kabe, also spoke from the pulpit and shared her experiences of learning that Kabelo was diabetic.
Suzan said on the day they went to the hospital and learned about her son’s condition, he was very weak and he couldn’t sleep all night because he had to rush to the bathroom after every sip of water he had.
“When he was in Grade 12, we were fortunate because he did not have any complications during exam time.
“He has a device to monitor his sugar level and he eats balanced meals,” said Suzan.
Kabelo is currently studying biomedical science at Unisa. You can learn more about his diabetes awareness campaign on his Facebook page at Kabelo Kabelo (Kaybee).
