Dudley woman with diabetes launches book about her experiences living with the disease

Around 120 people were at the event at Yvonne Warner’s home, including Dudley Mayor Cllr Hilary Bills.

“I was very impressed by the number of people who attended the launch,” said Yvonne, 63, who wrote My Forever Best Friend to let other people with the condition know that it won’t stop them from achieve what they want in life.

“They included family, friends, medical and nursing staff and NHS work colleagues.”

Cllr Bills, who attended with her husband John, the mayor’s husband, thanked Yvonne for writing the book about living with diabetes and explained how John developed type 1 diabetes 20 years ago.

“She said she also understood the role of those living with someone with diabetes and thanked my husband Tony for the well-known support he and my family have given me,” Yvonne said.

“One of her chosen charities as mayor is Diabetes UK. As a former teacher and school principal, she is very interested in children and particularly supports the work of the association for children.

Yvonne told those at the launch that the aim of My Forever Best Friend was to inspire everyone with type 1 diabetes that you can live a very fulfilling life.

“It’s extremely difficult but you can do it. I want to show that if you have this illness, it doesn’t have to limit your capacity for joy and happiness if you take care of yourself, work with it, and treat it like your best friend.

She told the meeting that her royalties would be donated to Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), which carry out research and development into diabetes and also provide information about the disease. “I want to help them continue the phenomenal work they are doing that I and thousands of others have benefited from over the past 50 years,” Yvonne said.

“At the launch, I said I probably wouldn’t see a cure for diabetes in my lifetime, but what I see is that people can live as normal a life as possible thanks to all the advances that are currently carried out continuously but which require continuous investment. »

Memorabilia retracing Yvonne’s journey with diabetes were on display. This ranged from the metal hypodermic needles and glass syringes she used in the early years after being diagnosed at age nine, to the sophisticated continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system she uses now, where a sensor placed in his arm reads his blood sugar level, communicates to his phone and instructs a pump on his belt to increase or decrease the required dose of insulin delivered via a cannula.

“I also took this launch to thank my family and closest friends as well as all the professional and support staff who have been with me for 50 years, without whose support I would not have been able to live the life I have. I have,” Yvonne said. . She said they included her diabetes consultant, Dr. Tony Zalin, from the 1990s, and Barbara Kilby, a diabetes nurse from the 1980s, who were both in attendance.

Others at the launch included representatives of Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles.

“Several people at the launch said how much they had improved their understanding of the lives of people living with the condition and how they would now have a better understanding of the needs of their staff or colleagues in the workplace,” Yvonne said.

Yvonne has enjoyed a long career in the NHS, working in hospitals and health authorities across the West Midlands. She and Tony have raised money for diabetes charities through many events and challenges. Yvonne swam the equivalent of the English Channel while Tony recently completed 100km from Brighton to London.

Yvonne explained why she chose the title of her book. “Type I diabetes is my best friend forever,” she said. “He is with me for life and I am inseparable from him. The book is about how I learned to live with my best friend, through the good and the bad, the ups and downs.

“The whole experience of being a Type I diabetic has made me the person I am.”

Yvonne asked everyone at the launch to buy the book, reminding them that it would be a great Christmas present and would definitely be the best Christmas present ever to see increased funding for everyone affected of diabetes.

My Forever Best Friend is available for purchase in hardback, paperback, or Kindle format through Amazon.