Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund is a charity working to help improve the lives and ultimately find a cure for those living with type 1 diabetes- this charity is very close to my heart. I have been living with diabetes since I was a year old, (this equates to approximately 57,100 insulin injections!!!), my pops has been a diabetic for 48 years. Although it has been tough, over the course of my lifetime, and particularly his, access to various treatments and technologies has made managing and living with diabetes a little easier and I want to help ensure this continues, not only for myself and my dad but for the 400,000 people in the UK living with type 1 diabetes. It's a terrifying thought that one person in the world dies every six seconds due to this condition.
So, I have decided this year I am going to trek approximately 70km of the Great Wall of China, across rough and rocky underfoot and up and down many steps. This is a physically demanding challenge for anyone, but throughout the trek I will also have to be constantly thinking about my diabetes. I will have to adjust my insulin injections accordingly for every single step I take, as well as factoring in the heat and change of diet whilst continuously monitoring my blood sugar levels.
This is a celebration of strength and the fighting spirit needed to live with diabetes. I have always been a firm believer that diabetes should not stop you from living your life or from reaching your goals, but with a lot of planning, help and support from my hospital team this is my opportunity to prove this to myself and the world.
This is why I ask you to donate anything you can to get me through this very challenging journey. I want to give something back to a charity that have helped me so much since I was a baby. It really will mean the world to me throughout my training and my trek, and I really hope that your sponsorship will help other people, like myself who live with type 1 diabetes, and ultimately one day find a cure for this life changing condition.
I also want to stress I have opted to pay for my flights etc so the money raised will go to JDRF.
Any donation will help; £5 can fund an hour of research, including a vaccine at Kings College London. £10 can pay for two participants with type 1 to have blood tests required for a clinical study to help find a cure, whilst £20 is enough for researchers to test medication helping to reduce the burden of type 1 diabetes.
JDRF makes a huge difference to people lives, so please, if you can, dig deep, be generous and donate.