Khadija Stewart-Brown from the United Kingdom was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was a baby.
“I was born five weeks early, hence my name Khadija, which means early baby girl! My pancreas was overproducing insulin, which meant I was having a lot of hypos, and so the doctors made the decision to remove my pancreas when I was four months old.”
Living with diabetes
Khadija was monitored by a diabetes team and had to check her blood glucose levels daily, before starting on insulin injections when she was nine.
Coming down with COVID-19 symptoms
“I came home from work with what I would describe as flu-like symptoms,” says Khadija.
“Within the first two days I had a really high temperature and then developed shortness of breath and a cough. Initially I wasn’t going to call 111 (the national hotline) as I thought I would just get over it, but after seeing the National Health Service (NHS) guidelines I thought it was sensible to get myself checked.”
After calling 111, paramedics were sent to her house and told her she did not need to be admitted to hospital but should self-isolate.
“I spend a lot of time daily on Diabetes UK’s Facebook page and website to get up to date information on how the virus can impact my condition.
And yes I was more attentive due to having COVID symptoms because it was new and I was aware being ill in general can have a negative impact on my diabetes management. So I was monitoring my blood sugar levels more frequently.
My main concern was making sure I was safe and protected so during the first lockdown I was shielding for three months just for peace of mind.”
Self-isolating with diabetes
“Now that I’m feeling better I’ve got lots to keep me busy, so I’m managing quite well with the lockdown. I’m set up to work from home and thanks to Microsoft Teams and Zoom, I’ve been able to chat and video call people from my floor at work.
She says she has also been working on her Master’s dissertation and has plans to learn a new language and a musical instrument.
“And probably like everyone else, I’ve got a Netflix list which is growing by the day, but I’m limiting myself to how much I watch – maybe an episode on my lunch break,” she says.
“I’m taking each day as it comes but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!”
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March 23, 2021 at 09:13PM
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Type 1 diabetes and recovered from COVID-19 symptoms: Khadija's story - World Health Organization
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