The Flavor Podcast Network Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's for the Brown brothers and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture, their identity, their roots.
This is Island Roots Auckland Ways.
What's up everyone, and welcome back to Island Roots Auckland Ways. Hey girl, Hey.
Girl, how are you today?
I'm feeling good. We have a pretty good cord at all today. It's a very special one because this month, November, it's Diabetes Action Month and the thing for this year is don't sugarcoat diabetes. Let's face it. We are Maudi basifica and the stats don't look good for us in the diabetes department. But we're all about breaking the the fuck ama around diabetes because it's actually not a bad thing.
And if you do have diabetes, or you have some suspicions that you might be living with diabetes, we want you to know that it's all good.
Absolutely.
So this episode's all about educating ourselves on the truth about diabetes, to dispel myths and break stigmas.
I didn't know much.
About diabetes before we had this chat, I will be perfectly honest. I knew a bit from my Level two biology I don't even know if it's biology. Must be a level two NCAA Level two biology classes that I had at school, but I feel like when we talk about them without a person who has a lived experience, it's just kind of like, oh, okay, and what am I going to do with this information? But being able to understand the real life ramifications and impacts was really
powerful in this cordy door. Yeah, so this week we were very lucky to be joined by Iliana Fussuur from Diabetes Auckland. Now she's a diabetes educator working on a few different programs that help prevent diabetes and educate people on lifestyle changes or the risk factors and the preventatives two diabetes type one, type two, and she gave us a little bit of a rundown gestational diabetes as well. But then we were also very blessed to be joined by Milan Mula, who is a young person living with
type one diabetes. And a big fun fact that I learned was that you're not just born with type one diabetes. I feel like I grew up reading at the Girls Know the Babysitters Club and in the Babysits Club. Stacey has type one diabetes, and I believe she was born with it, so I thought that all type one diabetics were born. But no, you actually can develop it over time and it's not something that can be prevented like type two can. But Milan has this like lovely positive
disposition on life. But then gave us the most incredible hearty bass, badass important slam poem about his experience with diabetes and the kinds of myths that he's had to bust down in his life.
Yeah, there's no shegar Hoding. This episode of Island Roots Auckland Way is starting right now.
Hi, everyone, welcome back to another episode of Island Roots, Auckland Ways. It is November. It is Diabetes Action Month and we are so so so grateful to be partnering with diabetes in New Zealand this month as a part of Diabetes Action Month and the theme for this month is don't sugarcoat Diabetes. So today on the episode, we're going to be busting myths, learning about lived experiences, but also dismissing what discussing dismissing myths, discussing what diabetes really is.
And to do so, we have the amazing Ileana Fossitur from diabetes Auckland, and Milan Walla, who lives with type one diabetes, joining us in the studio Todayla.
Welcome on into the studio. How are we feeling today? A little bit fine? You're a super slight and how about you, Milan? How are we feeling good and shy?
This is both of your first times doing a podcast.
What podcast were you on before?
I don't know the name, but poetry call it all.
And speaking on poetry. We'll have a little bit to share on that later on in the podcast, won't we.
Yes, we absolutely will hopefully if you're feeling less shy.
Later on.
I don't know if you two know, but every episode we start our episodes with our guests with a little game called what we love about Home? So home can be whatever you like. It can be your physical home, the four walls you live with them. It can be your home I don't know, back in the Islands, or it could be the suburb that you're from. We just want to know what you love about home and where home is for you. For me, home is Auckland and what I'm loving about home at the moment is walks
around the viaduct in the city. It's just something so nice about it, especially now that it's getting close to the summer. Yeah, it's lighter later at night, it's lovely and.
It's a little bit hot at the time of recording. Do you feel warm?
I feel warm today and I like it. I'm here for I'm here for it.
I'm here for putting on some sunglasses and having a cold beverage. Yeah, regino in my hands. What I love about home this week? I will say what I love about home back on the Islands is the slow pace of life. Especially on a Sunday. Everything is closed in the Islands because that's when you go to church with your families and you are supposed to rest on the Sabbath day. So yeah, that's what I love about home,
the slow pace of life. I feel like sometimes when we're here in New Zealand it can be like always changing and moving. But back on the Islands, definitely, I love how we have a dedicated day to stop and take a rest. That's when I love home about this week. How about you, Milan, what do you love about home?
What do I love about home? I think home is at my nance house down south. She livesten no, we went down there recently. That are bonfard during the day and at night. But it was nice fun, yes, yes, yes, yes.
How often are you able to go back to your NaN's house?
Not that often, but when we do go back, it's fun.
It's always a good time. And Ileana, what do you love about her?
What I love about home this week is home for me is I live in South Walkland and my sister, younger sister and her family came yesterday from Brisbane, Australia.
So yeah, a lot of kids running around it.
Yeah, sharing stories and feasting and yes, that's what I love about home this week.
It's so lovely beautiful.
Thank you for sharing.
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing, both of you. As we know, we're here to talk about diabetes and we kind of wanted to start off with a little bit about your work, Ileana and how you got involved with Diabetes New Zealand, the kind of work you do with Diabetes New Zealand slash Diabetes Auckland, and yeah, a little bit of how you found yourself on this line of work.
Yeah.
So I have been with Diabetes New Zealand since twenty thirteen. Wow, over ten years.
Were a good girl.
I'm heavily involved with the health promotion programs and activities out in the community. In our health promotion activities, we focus on diabetes prevention, especially type two diabetes, which is a type.
That can be prevented. We have a program called Hope.
And it's a community based diabetes prevention program. So I coordinate and call facilitate our whole program raising awareness and educating our especially at risk community, which is our Maori Pacific in South Asian to learn about how to prevent type two diabetes through healthy eating and exercise. I also do workplace educations and just diabetes education and awareness in
different community groups. And I also assist on our mobile band when we're going around different community groups, workplaces, rec centers, community events, and do our HbA one C testing just diabetes testing.
So yeah, so that's pretty much what I do.
My gosh, you do so.
Queen of Diabetes. First of all, can you heire to educate us please on the different types of diabetes that there are, because for me, I know that there's many people in my life who live with diabetes, but I'm actually not sure of what diabetes is and that there is different types.
Yeah, so yeah, I was just gonna say it is important to first know what diabetes A is. So diabetes as a chronic disease, and it's a condition that develops when blood glucose levels are too high because insulin is absent or not working correctly in your body, so in other words, too much sugar in the blood. So there are three main types to answer your question about the
types of diabetes. There is gestational diabetes, which as women who have diabetes during pregnancy, so it only occurs during pregnancy, but once they are given birth it goes away, but that increases once they're diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It increases the risk of developing type two diabetes later on in life if they don't look after themselves well after birth.
So that's gestational diabetes. Type one diabetes, I'm sure Milan will talk more about it, but type one diabetes, it's the type that cannot be prevented, very common among young children. It can be genetic, but it's an autoimmune condition. So what I mean by autoimmune is that our body owned immune system destroys the cells that produces insulin and our body. So once you're diagnosed with type one diabetes, you are
insulin dependent for life. Anything can cause type one diabetes, and as as I've said before, it cannot be prevented. And yeah, it can be trickered by like an infection or changing the enroun. But yeah, once they are diagnosed with type one, they are the insulin inculin dependent. And then we have type two diabetes, which is the type
that can be prevented. And as I've mentioned before on my introduction, the way that we do through our health promotion programs and activities, we focus on type two diabetes. So type two diabetes can be genetic as well, but it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle. And there are other factors that contribute to the development of type two diabetes, but yeah, it's mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle.
So those other, yeah, different types of diabetes.
Thank you for sharing a little bit about what diabetes is, Ileana, and we'll come back to you as to the fukama around all the embarrassment around having and living with diabetes. But Milan, we want to bring you in now. Tell us about your story with diabetes. So you have type one.
Yep, type one diabetes. I was diagnosed ah how long ago in year eight so that would be like three years ago. Now, okay, yeah, COVID hit then after before you know, when we're like going into live or was it there were three or level two? Back to school? I got diagnosed with diabetes, so I couldn't go back to school, so it was all good.
Nah, yeah, so tell us your story. So you're diagnosed with it. Did you know anything about diabetes beforehand? Or nah?
Not really but my cousin had it. Didn't really talk to her much, But yeah, I didn't know what it was, so coming into it, it's like, you know that like idea, like that falsehood of it.
Yeah, it's you.
You're the reason though for it. And then like other things like that was hard going into it. Besides that, I don't know.
That's pretty buzzy, like what were the symptoms? Like how did you even know that there was something to diagnose?
I was drinking heaps of water, peeing heaps. I kept on getting real bad headaches, always felt thirsty, like dehydrated, other things like that.
And so did mom, who is sitting actually in the producer booth right now. Did Mom take notice off there and think, oh, I think we've got to thought I was over exagged and then eventually you reach a point you get to the doctors and they are telling you you you live with type one diabetes. What does life look like for you? Now?
Me learn a lot different. You gotta change old food habits and stuff. Not just like we were just unehealthy in general. But I feel like diabetes was that awakening or you know, when you like realize that something you need to change the way you do things, and it's Yeah, it's really changed the way I think about food in general.
Yeah, would you say that's been the biggest challenge since getting diagnosed or if there've been other things we were like, Wow, I would never had to consider this before getting diagnosed with type one.
Now, But like, just assumptions around diabetes as well just hard. You just people don't know, but they don't know, but they know them as much as you knew before something.
Yeah, what have been some of those assumptions.
That I cause it?
How do you like REBUTTAL like talk back to those people who have those misconceptions.
I just kind of joke about it, but I don't really. Yeah, people take it really seriously, but I just it just does what it is.
Yeah, No, I love it. You're talking about it with a smell.
So, what what does life look like for you now? So how do you monitor your blood sugar levels? Like, well, what goes into your life as a person living with type one diabetes? You know?
So, I'm on a dix com G seven sounds cool type things, continuous glucose monitor. It continually test my blood sugar and then it talks to my pump and I have a pump. It's a tea slim and it does the calculations and stuff cool boluses for me. And then whenever I put the numbers in on how much cabs I'm eating and then yo.
Wow, so much management. Yea, I am too immature to dealing with.
We've heard kind of some of the misconceptions even about type one being something that you can prevent now, but we know now thanks to that you can it cannot be printed. What are some of the other myths that maybe you've come across, especially in your type two diabetes education, that you would like to bust now.
So, one of the.
Things that I have heard most from the people in the community when I'm up there is that it's a fit person disease. You know, you're fat and lazy, you you know you have diabetes. Yeah, and it's one of the things that I wanted to say now that it's not a fat person disease.
Anyone can get type two type one diabetes.
Yeah, no one chooses. No one chooses to have diabetes. And weight as just being overweight is just one of the risk factors. There's more to it than you know, just being overweight. So yeah, so that's one of the things that I wanted to say here. It's not a fat person disease. Even active in slim people, they develop diabetes too, so yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. And also what type one diabetes. The most that I've heard about it is that it's not preventable, but also is there is it true that you're not you don't necessarily have to be born with it, like you could develop it later in life.
Yes, it can develop at any ages. Some people they are born with it. It can develop at any ages. So yeah. And as I've said before, anything in course, think intriguer type one diabetes.
And are the symptoms between type one and type two the same or.
Are they very very similar? So for type two diabetes, as Milan was saying, peeing a lot is one of the common symptoms, feeling thirsty most of the time, blood vision, if you have a wound on your body or sore, it's hard to heal. So that's also one of the common symptoms. Unexplainable weight loss for type one diabetes. People just losing weight without drying.
Can you relate to that, Oh no, I just got them, friend, they got super skinny and then they got diagnosed.
So unexplainable weight loss as one of the common symptoms for type one diabetes.
But those other symptoms, wow.
So a point that we raised earlier there is that misconception, ay, that type one diabetes, you didn't cause it, that type two diabetes over eight adulge to your fault. It's are your fault not moving around enough? But when clearly in the sullen one that we're having right now, the symptoms are quite similar and it's just quite hard to tell. Like there are, as you say, Ileana, a lot of risk factors associated with all types of diabetes.
That so risk factors it would be your family history.
So if you have someone in your family or a plant relative with the condition, it increases your risk. Often people when I'm out in the community doing education, they're like, who guess I'm going to have it because Nana has got it.
Yeah, well mom has got.
It, almost like it's inevitable.
Yeah yeah, But I say to them, that's just one of the risk factors. You can there are other things that you know and you can you can prevent. You can do something to prevent it or do something to delay it's development. So yeah, so family history, unhealthy as I've said four, type two diabetes, unhealthy weight, unhealthy eating, and being not being physically active. Those are the risk
factors that you can change. But the ones that you can't change as your family history, the ethnic group that you belong to, So if you belong to Mali specific or South Asian especially India, it increases your risk. And I guess it's to do with the lifestyle that we are in the food that we eat to So the ethnic group that you belong to, your age, so your risk of developing diabetes, especially type two diabetes increases as
you are getting older. And also if you've had diabetes during pregnancy or women who have delivered a big baby over four cages or nine pounds, wow, they also increases their risk of developing type two diabetes and high blood pressure a high cholesterol. If they have those two conditions, they're most likely to develop it. But as I've said, you know you can still you still can do something to prevent it or delay it's development.
Okay, I mean I want to bring you back and now how have your final come into total care or support you now that you've had this diabetes diagnosis.
Ah. So I had a lot of family. They're freaked out when I got a diagnosis Dad, mom, my aunties and uncles. It was a surprise. It was actually funny because my my younger brother got type one as well a few months later. It's not common, but yeah, we had to change a lot of food things, just having sweet things in the house, isn't you know, high sugar things, because it's hard to manage those things, especially when you
got two teenagers apparently. Ye oh yeah yeah. Food's changed also, like awareness as well, especially with like whenever I go to my aunties or my cousin's houses, they were like making sure that the food is good in this low carp lower cap then.
But yeah, what are the discussions like between you and your little brother?
Ah nah, we talk to be honest, there's a joke between us it's like, gee, if you've done your insolent your number now, it's just it's yeah, it's it's kind of funny, it's nice.
Oh, it's great that you guys have each other to support through the journey.
A yeah, it helps.
And I assume now that you're a few years into your diagnosis state, everything's all good. You've adjusted to this way of living. It's just small little adjustments that you make here and there.
Right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah c GM, random stuff like that, but yeah, small changes.
Yeah.
How long did it take you to get used to your gx.
ME.
I don't know, a few months, because once it becomes life, it just becomes.
Like absolutely worries for the rest of your days.
And what about you, eleanor what are some of the ways that you have heard have been helpful to those who.
Have been diagnosed with diabetes? I kids for.
Uh people with diabetes, they need love, they need confession less judgment, and they need the support. It's already hard enough living with condition, let alone being blamed and shamed for something that they didn't choose to have.
So yeah, to support.
I think it is important that people out there, if they know someone who live with diabetes, show love and kindness and learn about diabetes, really learn about diabetes, and yeah, just show support.
Yeah, those are great words of advice. Eleiana. And because you know this podcast is Maldi pacific Focus, I want to encourage you fans, if you're listening right now, go and get yourself checked. And you know the stats aren't good for Maldi and Pacifica and we know that the scene as it stands, there's a lot of judgment around and you know, we have been trying to debunk these myths and for you to go out and just have
an awareness of what's happening. If you have diabetic family members, have a talk to them, what's life like for them, Try and learn from the way that they live, and then maybe that can inform your own understanding of how diabetes works. And the main copappa is we're trying to prevent this. We're not trying to come in at an intervention stage. We're trying to come and wait before anything happens, so you have a happier, longer and a bit of fulfilling life.
Absolutely, so where can people go and get tested?
So we have a mobile vein and talked to you guys about but they can just go and talk to their family doctor and they can get a blood test done at laid Test. But if they don't want to go and see the doctor, we have our mobile win calendar on our Diabetes New Zealand websites for every month, so they will find out the locations that our vein will be that particular week and they can just come
and visit us. It's free, free, and then we can do the HBO test, which is the test that they used to diagnose people with diabetes and it measures the average of their bloochica level over the last three months.
And how long would a test like that take?
Seven to ten minutes in your result right there very first?
Yeah, easy, Yeah. My papa has type two diabetes, so he's always chicking his blood sugar and he always has fruit handy around the house, like a banana or an apple, and like he waits until a certain time to teste himself and then I'll see him like on a night that the blood sugar hasn't looked so well, and then he's got like a banana peal and then there is like a ton of corn beer and like having a whole feast for himself to try and get that those
levels up. And I always used to buzz out at the testing device that he uses, because you need to prick yourself to take a blood sample, and then you put it in this little machine and this man with age, you know, you just lose a weirdness of what's happening. And so you'll see those little you know, those little things that you put the blood on. Yes, you just see them all over the house. Yes, so.
That's that's your experience of Yes.
But we loved. What are your words of advice for any Malori Pacific young people, because that's who we're talking to on island roots upland ways, what are your words of advice for our final out there who might be dealing with any type.
Wow, this is personally. I put everything in a poem and I just write it out and then when I performed that poem, it gives me like a feeling of relief, you know what I mean. Just get that that feeling. Don't pile it up inside, just get it.
Out, you know.
Nice, So creative out lits really important. How did you find poetry as like your creative out lit?
So? I did this thing called many cord it or I did money spoke for my school and it was all restricted and I was just like the way they you couldn't write what you wanted to write. So then our school, I found we also had a spoken word program, So I just showed up. And then you just write what you write and it's it's not hate speech, but you just put everything on into a doc you know, or like a notes or like a piece of paper,
and then you perform that. And when you perform and it gives you like like you know, like you have a thing you want to get out of that poem and poetry helped you get out of it. Did you get out of the idea of this?
Mayors used to be a slam poet?
Can you that's what we do in poetry?
Can you speak to that experience?
Did you do with the front Line?
Yeah?
Last year? What year did you last year? Well we didn't take we got to the series of with the front Line, But you did win one, right I wan? Oh? Yes, I won another composition. It's called Storytellers and that year thirteen, and my piece was on bully. Oh this is taking me back to high school, like creative out money? Did you do thet did they still do that?
Yeah, we did that. We did our treat. I'm not it's not called the retreat. It's got something else, but yeah we did it.
Yes, yeah, it'scored something along those lines. And yeah, I love poetry as a creative outlets. So I understand me Land that you have a slam one that you want to share right now, diabetes. I reckon, we're really I think we're really the radio some that we can't say on a Sunday, but when you're ready, you can take away. We'd love to hear it.
I've always been a Pacific Maldi boy. My culture, just like my thoughts, spread out in all different directions, connected by the ocean. People like me. I won't even lie like raw fish and Rugby League, but Netflix with R and B blasting in the background. If my life was an R and B record, if my life is, my life is like an R and B record on repeat. The only thing I love more is Oh, that's right. Food.
From the very first moment when Nest taking cheese pie, h's my taste buds, the flavor swirling on my tongue and chanced by the textures and the aromas of every bite. Man I love food, and you know what, that wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have a non functional pancreas unable to cope with the sweetness that courses through these veins. So most days I have to do it myself. So why am I always being slot in with the people who sit at home doing nothing? Is it because
I'm a little bigger than others? This stereotype that since I'm fat and round, this is more likely to be self inflicted? Self inflicted even if it wasn't. I don't need your opinion the freedom we lose when that doctor walks in diagnosing our condition. Nah, problems we have to live with to the day we draw that last breath. When I was diagnosed, I was told that everything would be the same besides a few injections, and how where
we are we need to be of my body. I was never told about all the assumptions that will be placed on me by faceless people that surround me. Media stereotype in my condition, forming false opinions of these issues. Every diabetic must be fat the fault they're in this mess. Well, actually, scuff you. This crap is hereditary, like the color of your eyes or your skins. How is this any different than your receding hairline or you're in large nose looking
it tough into other people's businesses. But since I'm like this brown skin, long hair with the deep past, it leads to your misconception that I have always been a diabetic. But see, because I was never born like this. So when being told that these issues may have been my fault makes me feel less of the man I once was or never got to be, because when all you know is that takeout is bad and that vegetables are good,
it's how to process. The genetics have an effect on the way your life is going to turn out, sprawling out out of control around this roundabout we call adolescence, calling it a burnt out, burned out, ran out of wax, or really time before my pancage shut down. So maybe sometimes it's enough to make a boy lose his appetite, second guessing all the foods he finds enjoyable. Somethink that we was to stain my hunger no longer reliable, a
burden I carry everywhere I go. So do you know what it's like to food down your throat with tears forming it your eyes to wash away. The pain. Only problem is tears or wash away, the pain of needles being latched onto your stomach, tea sipped into your pancreas, and every bite only ever eat away. Myself thought of unfulfilled rummage to what my kid wishing it was all a dream, restless nights from waking up so weak, unable to move, hoping that someone will save me from my coma.
Grateful that someone did, but still wondering whatever better, just to let myself go. And when that starts, you begin to ask yourself, when will this pain start? When will I be able to stop lying to myself and accept the burden. So sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will forever scar me, and I'll wear those scars and bruises like a patch eternally etched into my back, reminding me of the life I live. Diabetic, Sorry, I am not a diabetic. I have diabetes.
It is not who I am.
It is a part of me. It does not define the quality of my character. So next time you want to binge Netflix or smash down some raw fish, hollor be lave you all those conceptions at the door, because there ain't no room in this group chat for this respect sorry, wow.
Wow wow wow.
What now I see is this beautiful happy disposition where you can put.
All his feelings.
So we're going to check that up on our Instagram. So you can go to Island Roots Auckland Ways on Instagram and TikTok if you want to peep there. So we're going to move on now, Milan Eleana to a little rapid Fire, a little rapid fire game to wrap up the episode. Someone's coming up, as we mentioned at the start, and we just want to ask you what is your ideal summer? So in a dream universe, what would you be doing the summer? Coming up? Alyssa, it's see someone summer girl herself.
Yes, okay, that is what I'm doing. I'm going to some More for a good part of summer. Will be my first time back home in over fifteen years, so I'm so excited to spend basically a whole month, and I'm taking my dad with me, probably his final trip back home, so it'd be really special. We're planning to go to all the places he grew he grew up in, go to all the villagers, maybe.
Get a what's dot with? But I'm so excited. I think that's my ideal summer.
Oh, you can't be an island summer, I'm sorry. Apart from the whole typhoon season, maybe not during the that's okay. My dream summer is one spent not working. Actually, so I can't wait to spend three weeks just out of office. My favorite part of taking a holiday is when you go into Microsoft Outlook and turn on your I love writing that. I'm like, I hope this email finds you. Well, I am unfortunately not working until I won't have access to my emails during this time.
That's my favorite thing to see.
So that's my dream summer, one way out of office emails off. How about you guys.
So this summer for me, I'll be heading to Fiji. Yeah I am.
Well, I'm tongueing it, but I'm called a Fijian. So my date's mum is Fijian and we have a family reunion and it's a village called in the Loo Lou group. So yeah, so I'll be there for in Fiji for three weeks.
Sonny. Yeah, when was the last time you went to Fiji?
February this year?
Okay?
Oh, yes, how timely that record? This podcast on Fijian language at the top of So, how about you, Milan, what's your ideal summer school holidays?
So my ideal holidays was staying at home and going swimming. But the summer I'll be training for nationals. What come with friends?
I also did. I feel like there's so many parallels in our journey and that's what I'm releasing as we pedalful.
Pedelful toma o CC. This is gonna be fun. We're gonna train. Wow.
With that said me, lan Iliana, thank you so much for joining us on Island Roots, upland Ways this week. And we're all about debunking the myths that come with diabetes. And you can uh take a quiz. It's all about learning the risk of diabetes. It's called the Know You're Quiz. You can take that diabetes dot org, dot inz slash no dash your dash risk as nice.
We will be heading over online to take that. Thank you guys so much for joining us, for your beautiful slam, poetry, sunning, and for your amazing knowledge. We're so grateful.
Bye, Thank you cheer and that is iral for this week. Thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you guys so much for joining us.
Are we allowed to announce that this is our second to last episode? I think we are girls second to last episode, So you've got a week to prepare for our last episode now gives your tissues ready, get your own, I don't know, get your blankets, and you're ready for next week. We ne're gonna cozy up with us for the last time.
But thank you so much to me Lan.
Thank you so much to Iliana for your time today, for your corded Orf, for your male tooldunger and as always, you can find us on the socials, Instagram, TikTok at Island Roots, orkand ways. I'd love for you to come and say hi to me because it is me running the socials, and I will be honest, I've been slacking on the TikTok, so if you could come say hi to me on TikTok, maybe I'll be more motivated to post on there.
Thank you very much, we are to hear.
Bye bye,