Page 31 - RPA Magazine December 2020

EXCLUSIVE FEATURE 29 Describing herself as “resilient, strong and fun”, former Olympic swimmer Meagen Nay, who represented Australia at both the Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Olympic Games, is nothing short of inspiring. Instantly on meeting the 32-year-old, her infectious, bubbly personality makes her seem like an old friend. “\\\\\\\[I’m\\\\\\\] pretty normal, humble and down to earth,” she says as we begin our chat on a windy Thursday afternoon on the Gold Coast, her hometown. “I’ve had some pretty hectic things happen in the past ... \\\\\\\[but\\\\\\\] I like to take the positives out of everything,” she said. The “hectic things” she speaks of include not only a recent diabetes diagnosis (more on that later) but also the tragic passing of her dad, Olympic swimmer Robbie Nay, in 1992, and then her brother, Amos Nay, in 2009, both in eerily similar circumstances involving motor vehicle accidents. “When my dad died, I was young ... I was three or four,” she said. “Not that it’s easier, but I just don’t have any memories of that. She adds that because this happened at such an early age, she “didn’t know any different” while growing up. This wasn’t the case, however, when her brother died. “When my brother passed away, I was racing at the World Championships, and my coach told me,” she said. “I think I was numb for a year or a year and a half. It was really kind of a weird time. “I feel like I didn’t deal with it straight away. It took me a while to kind of deal with it and to come to terms with it. I don’t think there were one or two things that I did to \\\\\\\[help get me through\\\\\\\] ... I have a really supportive network, which I think is important – my family. “Everyone deals with things in different ways. We’re all different. And for me \\\\\\\[eventually\\\\\\\], I just threw myself into swimming. I’d wanted to give swimming away as soon as it happened ... I couldn’t get back into swimming. “But then I think the only thing that took my mind off it was swimming. After having a good break, I just kind of threw myself into swimming and kept busy.” In an example of the positive outlook she exudes, she adds that the way she honours her brother’s memory is by remembering him in the “really good times”. “He had such an amazing life,” she said. “I miss him all the time, but I try to take the positive out of it. I celebrate his life rather than be sad that he’s not here. And you know, saying that, I have good days and I have bad days. “My coach was amazing and my mum’s probably the strongest person I know, and I think having people to talk to is really important ... just having a good support network and \\\\\\\[also\\\\\\\] having something you’re good at, to try to take your mind off things.” While throwing herself back into the pool helped her deal with the loss of her brother, the skills she developed over the years of being an elite athlete also helped her to come to terms with her recent diabetes diagnosis. “Being an elite athlete helped me because I feel, mentally, I’m very strong and very resilient to things that have happened and I’ve kind of got through them,” she said, admitting, though, that learning of her condition was a “bit of a shock”. “I had all the symptoms,” Ms Nay said, recalling the lead-up to her diagnosis. “I was really thirsty all the time. I just put that down to training – that I was dehydrated because I was training every day, not swimming. I do F45 \\\\\\\[now\\\\\\\]. “And I thought that maybe I wasn’t drinking enough. Another sign is you pee a lot. So, I was like, well, I’m drinking a lot of water, so obviously I’m very hydrated then.” She also experienced fatigue and blurry vision, which “scared me a little bit – I went to get my eyes checked”. Although given the all-clear on this, she went on to get frequent illnesses. “I just kept getting sick,” she said. “I kept getting tonsilitis really bad. It just kept reoccurring and I went to my GP, and he was like, ‘Let’s just get a blood test to make sure it’s \\\\\\\[nothing\\\\\\\] else’.” She describes her GP explaining to her what a normal blood glucose level (BGL) range is – usually between 4 and 8mmol/L, but this can vary from person to person – “and mine was up at 27.2mmol/L”. “It was a bit scary. You think you’re fit and healthy. I eat pretty healthily, \\\\\\\[but\\\\\\\] I think it’s a good kind of wake-up,” she said. She was diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood in January this year. “So, I got diagnosed with that \\\\\\\[and now\\\\\\\] insulin is probably my best friend,” she said. “My fingers get a bit sore from finger pricking at the moment. It’s been a huge lifestyle change, but yeah, it’s \\\\\\\[also\\\\\\\] kind of been quite nice to get to know your body.” While Ms Nay has had to make some adjustments to her lifestyle since the diabetes diagnosis, such as cutting back on sweets and alcohol – “I do miss doughnuts” (laughs) – where she’s still finding things a little bit challenging is “around exercise and around eating, as in, ‘Do I do higher protein, do I do less carbs?’”. “There are so many different angles and so much information about diabetes that it’s hard,” she said. “Everyone’s very different. Trying to see what works for me is challenging ... I’m trying to figure out what works for me \\\\\\\[rather than\\\\\\\] just copying what someone else is doing. “And remembering to take insulin ... it becomes part of your daily routine. I’ve had two really low episodes and now I’m getting to know my body when it goes low and ... when it goes high. So, those little symptoms are getting a little easier to identify. “But still, I go, ‘Oh, you know, I feel good’. And then I’ll check my BGLs and I’m like 12 point something. And I’m like, far out! I thought I felt good. “So, little things like that, another person wouldn’t have to think about \\\\\\\[which is\\\\\\\] a little bit challenging, and I guess you have good days and bad days, and I have days when I wish I didn’t have diabetes.” Being well aware that diabetes is “not TO PAGE 30 RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • DEC 2020