A serious support for me is to put myself in the place of a sick person, to grab the information,
act as a sick person so that I would know how serious and strong this illness is. Then when you
are in this position you know exactly how one feels—your friend, your sister, your mother who
is sick. So if she stops eating so much, you do the same so that you see how hard it is and you
can support them because you know how these things are. Because you have experienced these
things. (Female family member, 40 years old)
To encourage the person who has diabetes to do what is right, to not eat things that can damage
them or negatively affect their health. You know my friend, she injects herself with insulin and
her sisters are always telling her to take better care of herself but it’s like talking to a wall
because she ignores her sisters and keeps eating whatever she finds. (Female, 43 years old)
Family members expressed a strong desire to help their family member with diabetes. However,
they said that they lacked knowledge and felt frustrated and disappointed when they saw that
their family member with diabetes continued to suffer and was unable to control the progression
of the disease:
For me, it is very important to be informed, to get basic information about the illness, that way
you know what they [referring to doctors/health care providers] are talking about when they talk
about this or that. You have to have fundamental and complete information so that you can
safely and correctly do what you need to do. (Female family member, 40 years old)
I saw my mom thin, starving because she never used insulin. When she asks questions about it
[insulin] I would tell her “don’t take it, don’t take it” because my mom does not drink sodas,
does not drink juices, does not eat bread, no chili, nothing, not rice, not tortillas, but the disease
continues. . . . Now I think I was wrong [to give her advice not to use insulin]. (Female family
member, 40 years old)
It helps to learn about how much to eat of food, fats, and sweet bread. (Female, 62 years old)
You do not know how to help. You do not know how it is to live like that [with diabetes]. . . . I
guess that is why I have come here [classes] because I need more information. (Female family
member, 40 years old)