Family Members
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Mary Potter
Born in 1944.
Overview:
Mary Potter`s daughter, Joanne, developed symptoms of diabetes in 1978, when she was five. Her GP refused to believe she had diabetes and Joanne nearly died. This traumatic beginning left a legacy of anxiety and anger. Mary noticed that another mother of a diabetic child was more laid-back than she was. She also noticed that when a niece was diagnosed around ten years later, there was much more specialist help and information available. Mary still sometimes accompanies Joanne to diabetic clinics. Joanne hates clinic visits because she feels that doctors treat her like a child and make her feel guilty.

There are also interviews with Mary Potter`s daughter, Joanne Pinfield, and with Joanne`s husband, Nick Pinfield.

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Family Members 
Here you can listen to 25 family members of people with diabetes, including parents, children, siblings and spouses. They range from those who have had an official full-time role, with a Carer�s Allowance, to those who feel that their involvement with diabetes has been marginal.

The idea of interviewing family members came from people with diabetes recorded for this website who said they �could not have survived� without the help of a relative. In some cases, they were referring to rescue from unconsciousness and in others to moral support with diet or exercise. In all these cases, they felt that the role of the family should form an important part of the history of diabetes care.

We have used the term �family member� rather than �carer�, partly because a few of the interviewees have not been much involved in practical care and partly because some of those who have been greatly involved did not wish to be regarded as the �carer� of someone they loved.

In addition to 22 interviews that are mainly about the experience of being a family member, we have included in this section 1 interview with a healthcare professional and 2 with people with diabetes who have also been involved in looking after members of their family.
 
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