Cadence

Cadence and her family are participating from Adelaide, SA

Cadence was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 18 years old; over 17 years ago. She came across the ENDIA Study in her role as a Senior Research Grants Officer at the University of Adelaide. Cadence was determined to continue contributing to research throughout her pregnancy and her child’s early life.

Her eldest son, Edwin, has been involved in the study for four years now!

Cadence found that ENDIA has been a great way to track Edwin’s growth over the years, and the family enjoy catching up with the staff each visit, especially Meredith (one of the nurses who works at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, SA). Some of the study requirements have been a bit challenging (i.e collecting the poo and wee as Edwin approached toilet training), but we know it’s probably nicer to collect than it is to process the samples (poor Meredith!).

“Current medicine is very good at treating and managing T1D but there is still a gaping hole in our understanding of what causes this lifelong condition. Our family hopes that the ENDIA study will reveal important information about what can trigger the development of T1D, which might give researchers the opportunity to stop the disease altogether. To get there though, there is so much data that needs to be collected from many families. We feel privileged to be among those contributing.” Cadence.