There are currently 400,000 people in the UK with type 1 diabetes, over 29,000 of them are children.

I knew of diabetes growing up but never really understood the impacts it can have on someone's day-to-day life until quite recently.

On my birthday last year, I woke up and my partner Joe, who should have been on an early shift in work, was still in bed. He told me he wasn't feeling well, and I urged him to get an appointment with his GP. He'd lost a significant amount of weight over the Christmas period (approx. 2 st) without dieting and had several other T1 diabetic symptoms. A few hours later he called me at work saying that he needed me to take him to A&E because he wasn't allowed to drive there himself. The GP told him if he had waited another 24 hours, he would have gone to hospital in an ambulance. It was a rollercoaster of a day, moving from room to room for tests and hooked up to various drips but at least I got to spend my day with him and ended up not having to work - every cloud has a silver lining! He spent the week in hospital, and I went in to see him every morning before work and every evening after. It was the longest week of my life, and I'm sure his, and so was glad to have him back at home 4 days later.

Until this point I had very limited knowledge about T1 diabetes. In a sense, I was very lucky because of the support network I had when he was diagnosed. My best friend Sarah's younger brother was diagnosed T1 4 years prior just after his 11th and so she had an infinite amount of knowledge. I spoke to her and other friend's (Cat!) regularly for advice on things to look for and how it would change things day-to-day which was comforting, but ultimately it was for Joe to manage.

He knew that being diagnosed T1 was going to be life-changing as his mum and one of his best friend's Rob are also T1. He'd seen how it had affected them and knew he'd now have to adapt. It's been a challenging year learning to inject, eating at regular times, being smart with exercise, dealing with the DVLA(!) and prescriptions that weren't correct or not where they should be! However, he's taken it in his stride and now like to send me diabetic-related memes on a regular basis, which are very amusing (albeit relatable too)! We also regularly play "Guess what my blood sugar is going to be" and I'm getting quite good (even though it's a game of complete chance!).

As well as working a full-time day job at SSE, I also have the privilege of running my own Irish Dance Academy where I have the pleasure of teaching a young student who is a T1 diabetic. Dara is a fantastic student, and it never ceases to amaze me how she can just get on with such a big adaptation at such a young age. 

I'm looking to fundraise for JDRF, a charity that was established in 1986 and has committed to eradicating type 1 diabetes and its effects for everyone in the UK with type 1, and those at risk of developing it. To work towards a day when there is no more type 1 they:

• fund world-class research approved and administered by our international research programme to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes
• make sure research moves forward and treatments are delivered as fast as possible
• give support and a voice to people with type 1 and their families
  

I really want to make 2019 about giving back and fundraising for good causes so I've decided to put my love of cycling to the test for a good cause. I purchased a road bike in the summer of 2018, but it hasn't seen a lot of mileage, and I've never taken on something of this distance so hoping this should be a great challenge. Please give what you can!