The story of Fathih - A diabetic youth, but with a normal lifestyle

 
Fathih Mohamed has lived a normal life for as long as he can remember. He went through every phase of growing up like the rest of us, is currently a working student, and has ambitious dreams for his future. One might not notice it at first but once you meet Fathih in person and see the small computerized device attached to his arm, the narrative changes.  
 
He was a playful child who ran around all the time, enjoyed sports, and loved eating. At the age of 5 however, Fathih’s parents started noticing symptoms of Diabetes that soon became concerning. They were able to detect the changes because Fathih’s older brother already had the condition hence his parents were knowledgeable about Diabetes. Even though there is no scientific reason so far as to what causes Diabetes or its relevance to genetics, the condition is common in Fathih’s family.  
 
It started with Fathih losing appetite and as a result, a lot of weight. Soon after doctor consultation, he was tested and diagnosed for Type-1 Diabetes. Fathih’s life then became somewhat of an adventure as travelling often became part of his life. He as a child did not understand it back in 2003, but now realizes that most of the trips were to nearby islands to seek proper medical attention.  

 
Type-1 Diabetic patients need constant monitoring of blood glucose levels to ensure that it is regulated at a healthy level with the use of insulin taken internally. The pancreas which is responsible for the production of the hormone insulin is incapable of its function in people with this condition. Therefore, it is a chronic condition that patients live with.  
 
Testing kits and insulin were almost impossible to acquire easily on the islands at the time. For a long time, travel to other islands or Male’ were required for even doctor consultations. This too came with additional challenges since there were no specialists for diabetic patients. It was after associating with the Diabetic Society of Maldives later on that easier consultation with trained doctors was made possible. Their assistance was immense in accessing insulin and testing kits with more convenience and affordability as well. Fathih now has an insulin pump attached to his upper arm.  
 
Almost two decades and a major part of his life living with Diabetes, Fathih advocates for the awareness of the condition for the public. He finds it unreasonable that it is a common belief among the public that a diabetic patient should be careful about the lifestyle, and being even slightly active. In fact, exercise is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for diabetic patients.  
 
As a Type-1 Diabetic patient himself, Fathih finds it rather easy to be active and even consume normal food. Of course, he takes precautions with body glucose levels at all times. He believes that the misconceptions are common because a lot of us do not have sufficient information regarding the matter.  
 
The first steps to making proper diabetic care accessible to everyone is informing them about the condition. It needs to be taken up as individual responsibility because Google remains at our fingertips. Fathih urges everyone to make the effort in learning more before saying more about Diabetes. It is not caused because someone eats too much sweet food which is a red flag for many other health conditions anyway.