My Grandma, my Godmother Jenna and my Dad are all getting Tattoos to raise money.  The tattoo is a logo I designed for my medical ID tag.  The logo was inspired by the number 2 as I was diagnosed with diabetes on the 2nd of Feb (2/2)  You can see this logo on my photo gallery on this page

My Dad, my two brothers Michael and Daniel and our friend Paul are getting their bodies waxed.  This will be painful for them but fun to watch!

Please sponsor us by making a donation by clicking on the blue donate button above and then why not suggest whereabouts they get their tattoos or waxings?!

My Story

It was on the 26th of January when it all started. At that point of time I was doing all my daily routines whether it was dancing to going out with friends. I started to feel very tired and I had pain in my stomach when I would eat.

On the following Wednesday morning, my mum noticed that I looked a little bit down and that I had lost all colour in my cheeks and that I had no joy bubbles in me. So she didn’t want me to be doing much exercise for the day which was difficult as I was in the final rehearsals for a school dance show and the Gang Show.

On Thursday, my mum told me that I’m not going into school because of how unwell I was looking and feeling. 

On Friday I stayed at home again as I was feeling unwell still.  Dad stayed at home with me and Grandma popped in to see me.  Mum went to the hospital to see my granddad as he was poorly too.

On Saturday I was very poorly still and we called the out of hours doctor.  After hearing my symptoms they recommended that I should go to see the out of hours doctors.

My dad took me and the doctor said there is a chance I had a virus or it was Diabetes Mellitus and I had ketoacidosis. I then had to go to Watford A&E but on the journey my dad took me to a cafe and my dad gave me a McMuffin breakfast.  We then arrived at the hospital before we knew there was already a bed ready for me and cannulas waiting to penetrate my hands.

Dad was anxious and waiting for mum to turn up as I was flirting with the nurses!  Mum arrived and I pretended to be unconscious.  I was seen by the doctor and it was confirmed at that point that I had Diabetes Type 1.  I was taken immediately to the high dependency children’s ward where I was under 24 hour observation.  I felt like I was a pin cushion as every 20 minutes another needle was put into me checking my bloods.  I stayed in hospital for another day and was discharged along with so much insulin, needles, testing monitors and information.  This was very scary and it did not just affect me but my whole family.   This was a life changing event for me knowing that I had to keep a very close eye on my bloods otherwise it could have a massive impact on my health.

Since this time it has been a struggle and we learnt something new every day and we still are.  Although I continue my day to day activities I wish I could be like other kids and not have to think about how many carbs are in what I eat, how exercise will affect me and how much insulin I have to inject to keep myself within safe blood sugar levels.  Sometimes I wish I could just go and take a snack from the cupboard like my brothers without having to count carbs and inject.  I also wish I didn’t have to carry a bag of medicines with me everywhere I go.

Puberty is a nightmare for any teenager, try going through puberty and diabetes now that is a challenge!

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disorder that destroys the beta cells in the pancreas and stops the body producing insulin. Without insulin, I cannot regulate my blood sugar levels or convert sugar into energy. This happened to me and as a consequence, my body had begun to use fat stores as an energy source, a process that had created a build-up of toxic ketones in my body. Left untreated, ketones can cause diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious condition which can result in coma or even death.  

I have learnt that the average life expectancy for a type 1 diabetic can be 15 years shorter than it is for someone who doesn’t have diabetes, because high blood sugars can damage blood vessels, nerves and other tissues causing problems for the eyes, heart, kidneys and nervous system. 

Type 1 primarily affects children and young adults and it only accounts for 10 percent of the diagnosed diabetics in the UK. Its onset can take months or years. As a result, a quarter of the 2,000 children who are diagnosed annually are already seriously ill, and ten children a year still die from preventable ketoacidosis. The most obvious signs to look out for are extreme thirst, frequent urination, tiredness and sudden weight loss, although children may also experience increased appetite, blurred vision, abdominal pain, a fruity odour on the breathe or urine, laboured breathing, and even unconsciousness. In normal people, blood sugar levels range between 4mml (millimoles per litre) and 7mml, but I will often go below 4mml or above 20mml. 

In the short term, we are desperate for a less invasive testing and insulin delivery system, but in the long term, we are obviously hoping that someone, somewhere, will find a cure.

If you sponsor our events, you will be donating to diabetes research and helping 21,000 kids in the UK who, like me, have had their childhood compromised by Type 1 Diabetes.

Diabetes: the facts

1. According to the charity Diabetes UK, 3 million people are diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, and an estimated 850,000 people have the condition but do not know it.
2. It is a condition where the amount of glucose in the blood is too high, because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that allows glucose to enter the body’s cells.
3. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body have been destroyed and the body is unable to produce any insulin. This may be triggered by a virus or other infection.
4. It can develop at any age, but usually appears before the age of 40, and especially in childhood.
5. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). It usually appears in people over the age of 40, though in South Asian and black people, who are at greater risk, it often appears from the age of 25. It is increasingly becoming more common in children, adolescents and young people of all ethnicities.
6. Although diabetes cannot yet be cured, it can be managed with lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, increased exercise and medication.
7. All those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes will require insulin, and eventually some people with type 2 diabetes will also find that their blood glucose levels remain too high and insulin treatment is recommended by their doctor.
8. Insulin cannot be taken in tablet form, because, being a protein, it would be digested in the stomach before it had an effect. It is given via an injection, using a syringe, a pen device or via an insulin pump. The insulin is absorbed into blood vessels and arrives in the bloodstream.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.