WATCH: Young girl defying the odds
LYNDHURST –True inspiration: Young girl defies the odds despite having lived with diabetes for three years
Carol Ann Lowe from Lyndhurst has been living with diabetes for three years now but she has not let the disease ruin her life.
Lowe is a Grade 12 pupil at Reddam House School, and a tireless ambassador and role model for youth living with diabetes. Following the tragic death of their domestic worker, Lowe was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, thought to have been caused by shock, at the age of 14.
Lowe said when she was diagnosed with diabetes in Grade 8 that’s when she started doing a lot of community service to help inspire other people living with diabetes. “I try and do most of my community service during the school holidays and I enjoy doing it. It’s not like it’s a burden to me,” she said.
The 17-year-old also encouraged people living with diabetes not to let it ruin their lives and prevent them from achieving their full
potential. “You need to be strong and keep going. It is tough sometimes because you can’t just eat anything like everyone else can,” she revealed.
Learning to live with the condition, and realising that her peers lacked the knowledge to understand what she was going through, Lowe joined Youth with Diabetes (YWD) and started her journey as an ambassador, counsellor and fundraiser for young South Africans living with this difficult disease.
Now in her last year of high school, Lowe has received a scholarship to study at the New York Film and Acting Academy and hopes to be an actress one day.
Reflecting on how she has coped with the diseases for the past years, she said, “In the beginning I hated it, but I have learnt to deal with it. I am eating healthier and exercising more.
“Right now it is like a day-to-day thing, it does not even bother me, it does not really affect me that much because I am so used to it.”
Lowe’s mother, Gillian said there was nothing much she did in terms of assisting her daughter, as she did it all by herself. “At the beginning when she was first diagnosed with diabetes it was very disturbing, but the way she has handled it has been amazing, she hasn’t let it ruin her life,” said the proud mom.
The young warrior for people living with diabetes is also an ambassador for various organisations and charities which include Egoli kids, Stop hunger, Chic Mamas, Benoni Child Welfare, Ark Animals, Youth with Diabetes, Mamba and Red Bin Brigade.
