Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Type 1 Diabetes is a serious, lifelong, auto-immune condition. It’s
not caused by poor diet and it’s not preventable and it leaves the body unable to produce the hormone insulin.  This means that blood glucose levels need to be carefully managed every hour of every day, usually resulting in between 8-10 blood tests every day as well as through the night, administering insulin and calculating the carbohydrate content in everything eaten or drunk. Around 10% of people living with diabetes in the UK have Type 1. That's around 400 000 people, around 29 000 of them children and it's on the rise by about 4% each year.  It's the most common type of diabetes in childhood but it can develop at any age.  

Liz Simmonds and I have both decided to take part in Swim 22 for Diabetes UK.  We need to swim the length of the channel, 22 miles, from the comfort of our local swimming pools between 22 February and 22 May.  So we have 12 weeks to complete this - yes some may say this is easy, but 22 miles = 35,405 metres.  We need to swim on average 89 lengths (of a 33m pool) a week to reach our target of 22 miles.  We all lead busy lives juggling work and children, so this will be a CHALLENGE we promise you! 

The reasons why we have decided to take on this challenge are below:

Jo Dickson: Our daughter Scarlett has Type One.  She's almost fifteen
now and she's had it since just after her tenth birthday, so she clearly
remembers life without it. Learning to live with this complex and demanding condition has been very hard for Scarlett and indeed for all of us.  It's changed our family and it's changed Scarlett. One of us gets up at least once every night to check her levels, give her insulin or sugar and make sure all is well. School trips are a challenge, as are school lunches and so is sport. She has to think about how she feels every minute of every day. It's really tough. So I'm raising money to help find a cure for Scarlett and all the others like
her.  She's the bravest, strongest and most determined person I know. I
hate that she has to worry about herself all the time and I want her to know a life where she doesn't have to. Thank you for anything you can give to help us get there.

Liz Simmonds:
My mummy was diagnosed with Type 1 when she was 13.  She is now 70. The average life expectancy is 68 for women with Type 1, so I am pretty chuffed she has reached 70.  But it has not been without a huge struggle for her and us.  Since having her head injury nearly 6 years ago, things have become worse.  But she is a fighter and amazes us daily with her drive to keep going.  I am raising money for her to acknowledge the daily battles she has with Type 1 Diabetes!  I am also raising money for two children I know with Type 1 and a good friend too.  This is a horrid auto-immune disease that sadly some people must live with.  Unless you experience it first hand, most people have no idea of the ill health, daily worries and seriously scary times that some families must go through living with this disease.  Thank you for reading and I appreciate any money you can donate to help this amazing charity and my mummy.

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