More Than My Diagnosis: Presley

Ask Presley what the best part of having diabetes is, and she’ll say lollies. Which, she points out, makes you probably the luckiest kid in your class. 

Presley is seven, and her list of favourite things is short and to the point. “I love doing sports,” she says. “I love hanging out with my friends and whānau.” Ask the people closest to her to describe her and they’ll say kind and thoughtful. Ask her mum Abby, and you get something bigger: Presley is the strongest, bravest person she knows. 

She comes from a musical family. Her parents write and perform songs together, and Presley has appeared in one of their music videos for their song ‘Overwhelmed’, so she’s used to being in front of a camera. They’ve also been part of the Diabetes New Zealand community for years, going along to family meet-ups and technology seminars. 

Diagnosis

Presley was 17 months old when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. “When I was born I didn’t have diabetes,” she says, “but when I turned one ... they figured out that I had it.” Her family had never come across type 1 and didn’t know what signs to look for, so it came as a complete shock. That was six years ago, and these days it sits alongside everything else in her life. 

Her 13-year-old cousin was diagnosed with diabetes in June this year. Presley knows better than most what that first stretch is like, and she’s been right there for her big cousin. 

Presley and her family

Message to the world

Presley has a few things she’d like the world to know. For one, “just because you have diabetes doesn’t mean that you’re a real robot,” she says, pointing to the sensor on her arm. She also has opinions about phones, or rather, how people often misunderstand the use of them. As she confidently puts it, for some kids with diabetes the phone is for checking their levels, and “it’s not just for like watching YouTube and scrolling and texting.” 

If she could say something to a kid who’s just been diagnosed, it would be that having diabetes isn’t bad. “Even if your sensor or pump gets changed, I still believe in you,” Presley says. Her mum’s advice comes from six years of experience. It gets easier. It sucks, but it won’t stop you doing anything, you just need some extra prep. And you don’t have to be perfect. 

For her mum, a good day is a happy Presley who’s in good range more often than not. And on the days that aren’t, there’s no time off. “Diabetes doesn’t take a day off so neither can we,” she says. “But I think you just get used to being prepared and controlling what you can.” 

And what does her family hope her story gives to others? Encouragement, all the encouragement.