Kirsty Cornell
Kirsty and Martha's Sugarplum Children Valley of the Moon Trek
Fundraising for Breakthrough T1D
Story
2021 marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin, one of the greatest medical break-throughs in history. My sister Martha and I, along with 15 others, will be embarking on this 100km challenge through the Wadi Rum in Jordan, with the aim of raising £100k for JDRF, the Type 1 Diabetes charity. Type 1 Diabetes is a life threatening, and lifelong autoimmune condition that affects 400,000 people in the UK. More than 29,000 of those are children.
2021 also marks ten years since my son Walter (Martha's nephew) was diagnosed with Type 1. Those of you who know him know how much he has had to put up with every single day and night for the last ten years. He hasn't had a single 'day off' from his treatment, and he will never grow out of it: Type 1 doesn't work like that. Every meal is carb counted, every sports activity, exam, holiday, illness - everything - affects his blood sugar levels, and makes treating his condition a non-stop roller coaster - and not always the fun kind of roller coaster! We were due to be walking in the Sahara, but since Morocco cancelled flights to and from the UK, we are heading instead to the Wadi Rum in Jordan. It seems very apt that is it also known as the Valley of the Moon, bearing in mind all the bright stars - the Type 1 children - we are walking for.
Walter never, ever complains. This trek is not going to be easy, but every blister, every grain of sand in my boot, every step of every mile - it will all be worth it if we can raise some money to help not only to raise awareness of Type 1, but also, if we dare to dream, to find a cure for it.