Port Alberni – Four Nuu-chah-nulth people living with diabetes shared their experiences during the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Diabetes Workshop held Nov. 20 and 21 at the Alberni Athletic Hall.
Ron Dick Sr. is a Tseshaht man retired from the logging industry. Back in his logging days he said he would buy fast food and stop by a convenience store to pick up pop and chumus (sweets) every morning before heading off to work. On the weekends he enjoyed his beer.
Over time his weight ballooned up to 286 lbs.
It was in 1986 that Dick noticed something was wrong.
“I could be at a mall and I was always thirsty,” he recalled. No sooner would he finish a soft drink when he would be off franticly searching for a restroom.
He noticed his fingertips tingled and were going numb. His eyesight was blurry and his feet would hurt.
When Dick went to see his doctor he learned his blood sugar levels were dangerously high. “I was scared,” he said.
Dick had Type II diabetes and needed medication and lifestyle changes to get it under control.
With the help of his family, his doctor and some self-discipline, Dick turned things around.
He began by getting into the habit of going for a walk after every meal. In time, those walks turned into jogs. In the beginning he required insulin injections and remembers having to poke himself in the abdomen with insulin shots. But his diligence paid off and in the first year since his diagnosis, Dick lost 130 lb.
And as his weight went down his insulin doses were gradually reduced.
Today, Ron is off of all diabetes medication. His eyesight has returned to normal and he regained the feeling in his fingers and feet.
Ron says he keeps the weight off by watching what he eats and drinks and he exercises regularly. He can still enjoy the occasional beer but he avoids things like white bread and convenience stores.
And he lives an active lifestyle.
“I’m always busy; always looking for something to do,” said Dick.
Aboriginal people are among the highest risk populations for diabetes and there is a growing number of Nuu-chah-nulth people being diagnosed with the disease.
It is for that reason that the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council asked Prevention Worker Matilda Atleo to organize the conference to raise awareness about diabetes.
Drawing Nuu-chah-nulth people from throughout the region, the conference focused on diabetes diagnosis, management and prevention.
Vendors were on hand selling crafts, clothing and demonstrating exercise equipment. Health care professionals and representatives were set up in a quiet area where they could measure blood pressure, test blood sugars or discuss health concerns with people.
In keeping with the prevention theme, healthy meals and snacks were provided throughout the event. There was plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish for everyone.
The first presentation of the day was delivered by CHN Francine Gascoyne who talked about signs, symptoms and risk factors of diabetes. She also described the different types of diabetes.
Type II diabetes is the one of most concern to Aboriginal people. It occurs when one’s blood glucose (sugar) levels rise higher than normal.
Uchucklesaht Chief Councillor Charlie Cootes Sr. was diagnosed with Type II diabetes nearly a decade ago. He said when he retired from logging in 1996 he became less active and started to gain weight.
He congratulated Ron Dick on his success in battling the disease and he pointed out that it takes strength, commitment and self-discipline to get diabetes under control.
Cootes said the concept of hishuk-ish tsa’walk (everything is connected) also applies to health issues like diabetes. For Cootes, the diabetes diagnosis comes hand-in-hand with hypertension (high blood pressure) and high cholesterol.
“Sooner or later you have to make a decision if you’re going to live healthy or not; you have to decide whether or not you’re going to trade some couch time for some walking,” said Cootes.
In a dramatic display of what it’s like to be a diabetic, Cootes dumped a grocery bag of prescription medication and supplements he takes on a daily basis.
“If you don’t want to live like this,” he said, gesturing to the pill bottles, “you need to start looking after your health.”
Cootes says he still deals with symptoms – extreme thirst, frequent urination and blurry vision. He is working on reducing the carbohydrates in his diet. “We don’t need to be eating a lot of rice, potatoes and white bread,” he said.
Cootes’ sister Gina Laing recalled her childhood in the isolated village of Kildonan. There, she grew up on wild foods like seafood, game and berries.
People stayed fit because everything they needed to live had to be packed in, from wood, to fresh water to fuel and food. Summer days were spent swimming.
It was at residential school where she was introduced to foreign, processed food like spaghetti.
“When I first saw it I didn’t want to eat it. It looked like worms to me,” said Laing.
In pre-contact times Nuu-chah-nulth people led active lifestyles and ate a diet rich in protein and healthy fat with a few carbohydrates in the form of plant roots and berries.
Carbohydrates are starches and sugar in its various forms.
Fatty fish like salmon and herring are high in omega-3 fatty acids which are believed to be beneficial for heart health, and are therefore known as healthy fat.
Since contact Nuu-chah-nulth people have had sugar, white flour and saturated fat introduced to their diets. Saturated fat is considered unhealthy fat and is found in foods like chicken skin and red meat.
Diabetes occurs when your blood glucose level rises so high that your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to bring it back to normal.
If you have type II diabetes then your body doesn’t use insulin properly.
Type II diabetes usually occurs later in life but for the past 20 years there is concern about the growing number of teens and children developing diabetes.
Children at risk include those with a family history of diabetes, have a sedentary lifestyle, are obese, or have been exposed to gestational diabetes.
Diabetes II symptoms include: excessive thirst, frequent urination, excessive hunger, fatigue, blurry vision, sores or cuts that won’t heal.
Donna Lucas was diagnosed with diabetes in 2011 when she became so sick she landed in the hospital. Her doctor’s advice at the time was for Donna to eat some of her home-canned salmon. Lucas followed the advice and noticed immediate improvement of her symptoms.
Donna isn’t the only one in her family with diabetes. She and her family work together to manage diabetes and to maintain healthy lifestyles.
She has learned that stress can induce a blood sugar spike. She needs to make sure she manages her stress levels, gets plenty of rest and monitors her sugar intake.
“I say it is a family disease because we can’t live in isolation,” said Lucas, whose goal now is to make sure her children don’t get diabetes.
Ahousaht elder Trudy Frank talked about traditional foods and how they were prepared and preserved.
She mentioned sea cucumber, octopus, seals, whale and sea lions as things we don’t eat much of anymore.
Her family ate a lot of deer, elk and moose meat thanks to the hunters in her family. These game meats are lean and a much healthier choice than beef.
Wild berries are low in sugar and were picked from spring to autumn. Ya’ma (salal) berries were spread out in a thin layer and sun-dried. Not many people eat ya’ma anymore, Trudy noted.
When it came to cooking fish and sea mammal meat, most of it was boiled with a bit of salt.
Sandy Murphy presented information about what happens inside your body when you have diabetes and what you need to do to take care of yourself.
The high glucose levels in your blood, what Murphy called sugary blood, presents itself in many ways. It pulls fluid from your tissues, including from the lenses of your eyes causing blurry vision. Left untreated, the vision damage can become permanent and blindness is possible.
It can cause nerve damage with patients losing feeling usually in their hands and feet but it can occur in other parts of the body.
During her years as an emergency room nurse Murphy saw a case where a diabetic patient was brought in after collapsing. It was discovered that the patient has suffered a heart attack but didn’t know it at the time because of nerve damage in the chest – they never felt the tell-tale chest pain of a heart attack.
The thirst/frequent urination cycle in diabetic patients is caused by the body trying to lower its blood glucose levels. Murphy says the sugary urine can cause yeast infections in both men and women.
While living with diabetes sounds distressing, the good news is that Type II diabetes can, in many cases, be reversed. Losing weight, being more active and watching your sugar intake is key.
Even better news is Type II diabetes can be prevented.
For more information about diabetic care, testing and prevention contact the NTC nurses at 250-724-5757 or see your family doctor.
Information about diabetes can be found online at the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Prevention worker Matilda Atleo was pleased with the turnout at the conference. She is passionate about educating people about diabetes prevention and wishes to reach more Nuu-chah-nulth community members.
“I talk about it whenever and where ever I can,” she said. Atleo says there are people in our communities who have diabetes and don’t even know it.
For now, she hopes funding will be there to have another conference in 2015.
Atleo thanks the NTC Nursing staff, including Ina Seitcher and Jeannette Trembley; the NTC Leadership Team, the people who made presentations, the people who helped coordinate the event and Mike Watts for running the sound system.
