Deborah Williamson has faced the worst a parent can dream of - finding her son dead in his bed.
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Even through her grief, she wants to get the message out there so it doesn't happen to others - type II diabetes can kill you.
Paul Borizov lived on his family property on Jones Island, looking after the farm since his mother Deborah and her partner, Bruce, retired.
On a Sunday morning a little more than a month ago, Deborah went into Paul's bedroom to wake him up, as it was getting late and he would normally have been up.
"I just thought he was asleep in bed. I went to turn around and come back out and I thought, no, he looks a bit funny, so I went over to shake him and he was already cold. So there was nothing that anybody could do. I couldn't start doing CPR on him because he was too far gone. I knew that straight away," Deborah said.
Paul was only 40 years old. He had died from a heart attack as a result of type II diabetes.
When paramedics attended, the scene told a tragic story. There were 17 empty lemonade cans in his room. He had consumed the drinks overnight after a hot day, along with half a tub of icecream.
He did tell his friend that he only took his medication when he needed it, and of course we found the medication out there from April and he hadn’t taken it. It was still in the boxes.
Paul was diagnosed with type two diabetes in 2012.
"For the first 12 months he was really good with it. He was checking his bloods every day, he was taking his medication, he was watching his diet, he was doing everything right. And then, sort of slowly slowly, he must have thought 'I don't need this'," Deborah said.
While Paul had stopped drinking alcohol, he had complacent about the disease and neglected to look after himself properly.
When clearing out his personal items after his death, Deborah found a box of his medication that hadn't been used since April 2019.
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"I don't think people realise how dangerous it can be. You've got to take your medication, you've got to take your blood sugar levels, you've got to make sure that you're eating properly and at regular times, and visit your doctor if you get any heart problems or you're getting agitated. Please go and see a doctor about it," Deborah said.
Deborah also is making a plea for people to get their affairs in order. Paul died intestate, meaning he had no will.
"It doesn't matter how little that you have - make sure your affairs are in order. Make sure that you have a will, because now we're having to go through all of this process of these things that if he had a will wouldn't have been a problem," Deborah said.
Sadly, another thing Deborah had to deal with after Paul's death was his chooks. He had left a box of baby chicks in the laundry. After the bushfires that ravaged the region, Paul contacted the Manning River Times and offered the chicks to people who had lost their chooks in the fires, also offering to keep the chickens until such time as the people could build a new chook house.
Deborah and Bruce knew about Paul's offer of donation of chickens to fire affected people but have no idea where he was up to and whether anyone had organised with Paul to take any. They have found a home for all of Paul's chickens and apologise to anyone who may have accepted Paul's donation in advance.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
