My Dad has Type 2 -- he has lived with me for the past 12 years. Due to his dementia, I have to manage all his medical issues.

We took DOE classes - Diabetes Outpatient Education. It was covered by insurance. VERY helpful! Learned SO much. Maybe you have something similar in Canada. The person who prepares meals needs to take the course with the person who has diabetes, as both of them will need to know the ins and outs.

Since your brother has it, you have a good basis already. You know diabetics have to monitor their carbohydrates. (Lots of folks think they just have to watch sugar which is false). You know about insulin. Depending what stage your Dad is in, he may use insulin or he may only need pills for now. My Dad started on pills, but because he did not control it, the disease progressed rapidly and within 4 years he had to go on to insulin shots. My friend's mom has tight control and has been on pills for 12 years. She is the same age as my Dad, so that is not the difference between the 2 of them.

With Type I, the pancreas does not produce insulin. With Type II, either the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, OR the insulin is there, but the cells are resistant to it, or both. So there is not that much difference between the 2.