The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

Eleven-year-old Kaiden Moss-Moultrie has mastered living with diabetes at a young age. Now, she has become an author, releasing a book designed to share her plight and help other children facing similar challenges.

Kaiden was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just four years old. It was a shock for her parents, but they knew something was wrong based on her weight loss, changes in behaviour and frequent thirst.

For some, including adults, such a diagnosis could have been difficult to handle. It's a life-changing diagnosis and the reality is that things will never be the same. But instead of being depressed, Kaiden's attitude was one of acceptance and making the best of it.

It's been seven years since her diagnosis and Kaiden has proven that with the right attitude one can lead a happy, fulfilled life, even if you have a condition like diabetes. She lives with an implant that monitors her glucose levels and she reads those levels throughout the day with a Dexcom receiver that looks similar to a beeper. It emits a ringing sound if her levels get too low or high.

While Kaiden has to inject herself with insulin several times a day, she maintains an active and happy lifestyle. She is a leader at her school, St John's College, and a competitive swimmer. She loves to help others, and when another student was also diagnosed with diabetes she held a cupcake sale to help raise funds for her friend.

Now, Kaiden has found a new way to reach out to kids who may have received a difficult diagnosis: authoring her first book to help others to find the courage to cope the way she did.

The book, "Kaiden gets Diabetes", is a relatable read for kids and is illustrated by artist Ren Mortimer. It shares her experience of having symptoms, dealing with her family, visiting the doctor, spending time in hospital, and life on the bright side once returning home.

She officially launched the book last week at the Diabetic Research Institute on Montfort Street in Palmdale, where she talked about the book and then gave autographs. To obtain a copy, e-mail sonjamoultrie@hotmail.com.