Kellion award to Trevor Forrest

Warragul resident Trevor Forrest has been presented with the Kellion Victory Medal for his perseverance in living with diabetes for 50 years. Diabetes Victoria awarded Mr Forrest this special acknowledgment during National Diabetes Week last week..

Mr Forrest was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 11. He was the first person in his family to be diagnosed with the condition.

Mr Forrest believes the OzDAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) program helped him to manage his diabetes. “I feel in charge of my diabetes since doing the OzDAFNE program. I can manage myself and now feel in control,” he says.

Mr Forrest lives a full life and has worked as a fitter and turner at the West Gippsland Hospital for 27 years.

With his wife, Carolyn, Mr Forrest has two children, one of whom also lives with type 1 diabetes. While enjoying travelling, cycling and vintage cars, Mr Forrest has also been an active CFA volunteer since 1980.

Mr Forrest says his life with diabetes is filled with “planning, monitoring and determination.”

He has connected with educational resources which he believes reduced his reliance on others and the healthcare system. Mr Forrest is grateful for the support his mother gave him when he was initially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and he is also grateful for the support his wife continues to give him. “Carolyn has been a good support and has kept me on track over the years,” Mr Forrest says.

The Kellion Victory Medal honours the lives of people who have lived with diabetes for many decades – which is an outstanding achievement. The medal was named in honour of the late Claude Kellion AM, a Sydney businessman who established a foundation to promote diabetes research after his son died aged 38 from diabetes complications.

Less than 100 years ago, type 1 diabetes severely shortened a person’s life; half of the people who developed it died within two years; more than 90 per cent were dead within five years. Thanks to the introduction of insulin therapy in the 1920s, and numerous advances since then, the long-term survival of those with type 1 diabetes has dramatically improved over the decades.

“There is no cure yet for type 1 diabetes, but recent innovations have improved life expectancy and quality of life immensely,” says Diabetes Victoria chief executive Craig Bennett.

“It is a remarkable achievement to have lived with diabetes for so many decades and I congratulate all of our recipients for this outstanding accomplishment. They all deserve our utmost respect and admiration.”

“We encourage doctors, health professionals, health services and support groups to nominate people who have lived with diabetes for 50 years or more for future Kellion Victory Medal presentations,” Mr Bennett continues.

Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia. More than 333,000 Victorians are living with diabetes, 10 per cent with type 1 diabetes.