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| 01 Father a soldier. Family moved with him. At school in Sussex during Battle of Britain. | |
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| 02 Got into Dartmouth (naval college) at 13, but college bombed & moved. After war, naval training in Far East. Transferred to army 1952. | |
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| 03 Married & got diabetes in 1957. Identified as high flier & invalided out of army at same time. Very distressed. Worked for car hire firm. | |
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04 Became Conservative agent.
Backtrack to diagnosis while in army. In hospital for weeks. | |
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| 05 Taught injections on orange & nurse’s arm. Serious hypo: fought despair because first child expected. | |
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| 06 Taught urine test & weighing carbohydrate & protein: “blacks” & “reds”. No problems from ’57 until move to Oxford in ‘62. Hypos rare until insulin changed in Oxford. First met diabetic specialists in Oxford. | |
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07 Explanation of “blacks” and “reds”. Still weigh food now.
Role of exercise not explained, but learnt by experience. | |
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| 08 Military Hospital very good. Thrown out of army in ’58 on same day as daughter born. No supervision of diabetes until moved to Oxford. GPs knew little about it. | |
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| 09 In Oxford, became friends with local doctor. (Still with his practice.) Went to hospital diabetic clinic. Unsatisfactory at first because saw different doctor each time. | |
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| 10 Was put on different type of insulin – led to more hypos. Then saw Dr. Tim Dornan – changed regime & taught me how to control much better than before. Also, Radcliffe reorganised to enable patient to see same expert – “revolutionised things”. | |
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| 11 Put on slow acting & quick acting insulin. Control much easier. Role of exercise explained. Radcliffe passed results of research to patients & explained. Nurse Jill Steenson visited at home. | |
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| 12 She became friend like Tim Dornan. I repaid them by taking part in experiments. Learnt that I know what suits me. Tried small handheld computer 2 or 3 years ago – no use. | |
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| 13 Computer recommended too little Ultratard. I realised I know best from experience. Could have been 4 or 5 years ago. | |
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14 Tim Dornan spotted incipient eye problems, but didn’t develop after regime change.
Foot problems – podiatrists made special shoes. | |
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| 15 Podiatrists wonderful, but feet problems make it hard to get exercise. | |
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| 16 Main changes since mid-60s – improvements in syringes & needles. Advantage of NovoPen – recently improved. Stomach injections in public: others in private. | |
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| 17 Blood tests improved. Test frequently & adjust insulin. Test more often abroad. Adjust Actrapid but keep Ultratard same unless hospital advises. Know to adjust in unusual circumstances. | |
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| 18 Diabetic clinic improved – appointment to suit me; short waiting time; advice; can phone if problems – same with podiatrists. Not like that in past. | |
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| 19 Still weigh food & think in terms of “blacks”. More information on packaging now. Less food if not taking exercise. | |
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| 20 Still have copy of diet given in 1957. Still stick to similar regime. | |
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| 21 Effects on work: hard to adjust to civilian life; politics made control hard. Chose teaching in late ‘60s – control easy, and enjoyable. Fewer warnings of hypos since change to human insulin. Good support from clinic. | |
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| 22 Enjoyed job & coped. Had 5 children. Wife helped me cope, but copes less well with hypos since she had memory loss. | |
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23 Blood pressure problems. Cholesterol – wife has helped with right foods.
Advice to others: don’t despair – not as serious as in past. Keep to strict regime. | |
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