Cover picture by Pernilla Strandberg, now 18, with diabetes onset just before she turned 6 years of age: “When I was 13 (at the time when I made the drawing) a lot of thoughts were taking place in my head. I was tired of taking shots, found them boring, and was sorry knowing that I would always have to take them. But I also knew this was saving my life. At the same time as I hated the shot (and my diabetes), I loved it. The evil syringe that only wanted to do me good. And in the drawing you can see a girl that is angry and mad with this syringe. But no matter how mad she is, the syringe is just as happy, because it only wants to help. And by drawing such a picture where you can see that the syringe is a kind and happy friend rather than an enemy, people with diabetes and especially children may change their view about it, realizing that it is not all that bad.”
By Pernilla Strandberg, aged 13
Picture supplied by Dr Ragnar Hanas, Department of Pediatrics, Uddevalla Hospital, Uddevalla, Sweden.
Diabetologia thanks ISPAD and other paediatricians for their support.