“[She] just got an orange and said ‘this is what you’re going to have to do for the rest of your life’ and plunged the needle in to it,” this was Mrs Nash’s first lesson in treating her type 1 diabetes.

That was 52 years ago and now Mrs Nash wants to use her five-decade long journey with diabetes as a beacon of hope for fellow sufferers.

The Tamworth-woman was recently awarded The Kellion Medal by Diabetes Australia to mark living with the illness for more than 50 years.

The medal is usually awarded at Parliament House in Sydney, but Mrs Nash decided to accept her award in Tamworth, to show people who may be starting their diabetes journey, there’s definitely hope.

While living with type 1 diabetes for the majority of her life has been a constant challenge, Mrs Nash encountered hurdles during the Kellion Award process.

“Because it was so long ago, where I was diagnosed at Newcastle hospital, has since been demolished,” Mrs Nash told The Leader.

“[We] had lots of difficulties finding doctors who are still alive.”

Recently honoured as medal recipient, Mrs Nash said “you don’t really think about getting a medal, because you don’t know that you’re going to live for 50 years”.

The Tamworth woman has continued to prove there is no challenge too great throughout her life and now she has a message for the local diabetic community.

“I’m especially concerned about young mothers with children who may have diabetes and they may be worried about the future,” she said.

“If they can see that someone has lived for 52 years with, I hope that will give them hope.”

When she was diagnosed at age 19, Mrs Nash said her mother, in particular, had a number of concerns for her young daughter’s future.

“My mother didn’t think I was going to get a job, or get married, or have children,” Mrs Nash said.

Despite her mother’s concerns, Mrs Nash proved her mother’s fears wrong on all fronts.

Tamworth hospital diabetes educator, Kate Ryan, said Mrs Nash’s milestone was very significant.

“It is significant because there are a lot of complications that people can get from living with diabetes, particularly if it’s poorly controlled,” Ms Ryan said.

“If we can control the diabetes well, which is hard work and something you don’t do on your own, you need a lot of family support and medical involvement.”