Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  I am participating in a half ironman race in Cairns Australia, to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  

Our daughter was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18 months.  Diabetes is an extremely difficult condition to manage, having to constantly think about levels of exercise, food, sleep patterns, hormone levels, excitement and many many more variables.  It involves daily injections, finger prick tests, calculating carbohydrate quantities and lost sleep testing sugar levels overnight sometimes up to 6 x a night .  It is relentless process and there is never a break.  My cover photo is an estimation of the number of tests, lost sleep and injections our daughter has performed in just 9 years! 

There is also the added risk of long term complications if sugar levels are raised over long periods, and the life threatening complications if sugar levels get too low - dizziness, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, seizures and death are all very real complications associated with diabetes. People with diabetes are constantly in fear of these complications and have to work extremely hard planning and organising everyday to avoid them.

For children, diabetes is even harder - they lose so much spontaneity in life and have to learn to be mentally resilient in order to get through each day.  This is without the physical pain and suffering they endure with fingerpick tests, cannula and sensor insertions, and lost sleep from testing and eating sugar overnight.  Sleepovers, parties, school camps, travel overseas, sporting activities, menstruation and even a simple meal need meticulous planning and organisation.  

The JDRF are a charity aimed at not only giving fantastic support to children and their families to help them manage diabetes but also co-ordinating research with the aim of finding a cure.  They have made very real progress in this regard and I would love to be able to support their ongoing efforts.

I hope you will be able to support me in fundraising for this fantastic charity.

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.  

Thank you so much for your time and support.