Hey guys!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On April 22nd I will be attempting drag this lanky frame 26.2 miles around London city centre for my first (and probably last) ever marathon! So for the next 4 months, this means giving up pizza, McDonalds, beer and anything else I consider nice! So here's my X factor-esque sob story to try and persuade you to donate to a fantastic charity in Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF)

10 years ago this August, on the 8/8/2008 whilst on holiday in Seattle my life changed forever, I was unfortunately diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at Seattle Children's Hospital. 8 years to the day previously, on 8/8/2000 at the same hospital, my sister Jess was also diagnosed with Type 1. (The Wynne's no longer share the Chinese belief that the number 8 is considered lucky).

Type 1 diabetes (also known as Juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune condition. For reasons we don't yet fully understand, your immune system - which is meant to protect you from viruses and bacteria - attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas (Beta cells). Insulin is crucial to life. When you eat, insulin moves the energy from your food, called glucose, from your blood into the cells of your body. When the beta cells in your pancreas fail to produce insulin, glucose levels in your blood start to rise and your body can't function properly. This means a Type 1 diabetic has to manually monitor their blood sugar and inject insulin accordingly. Leading to a daily struggle between stopping your blood sugar going to low which could lead to coma or even death, and a high blood sugar, which over a period of time could lead to blindness, amputations, Ketoacidosis (acidic blood) and heart disease.

JDRF fund research that will cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes and its complication. They focus on investing in research that will transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes - improving treatments today until they find the cure.

Any donations will be really appreciated by myself and JDRF!!!

Thanks,

Matt

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.