In 2020 the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa took on a research partnership with Middlemore hospital, funded by the Perpetual Guardian Trust and the Freemasons Foundation, to recruit and work with 20 young people with Type 2 diabetes, or pre-diabetes in the Counties Manukau Health DHB area. It's been a long and challenging journey for all involved, not least the young people involved. Our onsite research team...Kate, Trish, Diana have seen a lot of growth and change over that time, heard good stories and less good, seen setbacks and triumphs, and always been ready to adapt for life (and Covid-19) intervening. In this article by Stephen Forbes Local Democracy Reporter for Stuff is a little more about the project which is still underway, and one of our courageous young people, Mele Raass, tells part of her story before she undergoes life-changing surgery. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-democracy-reporting/300851336/seventeenyearold-to-have-bariatric-surgery-as-part-of-youth-obesity-programme?cid=app-android
