In February of this year (2023), the world tragically lost a talented guitarist and teacher, beloved by so many, and in the words of his favourite author, Douglas Adams - a hoopy frood who really knew where his towel was.

Michael was a gifted, intelligent, loyal, sharing and loving man.  But more than this, he was a devoted husband to Cathy and an honorary member of my family.  

Michael began playing guitar when he was 11 years old.  He progressed rapidly though the grades, and only four years later, he was accepted, on audition, to all the top Music Colleges in London.  Under scholarship, he studied music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama until he was 18.  During this time Michael became one of few guitarists to be a String Semi-Finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition and perform on many national TV and Radio channels.

Michael was insulin dependent and had spent much of his adult life coping with type 1 diabetes until, one night, during a particularly troubled period of his life, he took an insulin overdose and with it, his life.  

Diabetes can be hard to live with. The daily grind of checking blood glucose levels, carb-counting, insulin adjustment and dealing with hypos and highs can take its toll. It’s relentless and there’s no day off. Unsurprisingly diabetes burnout, when you’ve just had enough, is not uncommon. Depression is twice as likely if you have diabetes and 60% of people with diabetes will struggle with their mental wellbeing at some point.

Life can be tough enough for anyone, even if they are fit and healthy.    But can you imagine living with a condition that you have to continually monitor and control?  If you can, then it should be of no surprise that people with diabetes have double the risk of suicide or intentional self-injury compared with the general population. But this isn't something that’s widely talked about.  And we do need to raise awareness of this and talk about it so that we can make sure that help and support is there for the people that need it, when they need it.  

Michael was a Buddhist (although we thought of him as more of a Jedi) who had joked about having a sky burial.  We have found this challenging to fulfil in the UK due to some minor legalities, and instead, my son Aiden and I decided to challenge ourselves and climb to the highest point in the UK.  So during June 2023 (Michael's birth month), we will be taking on the challenge of climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for Diabetes UK whose vision is a world where diabetes can do no harm.  

Diabetes UK are leading the fight against the UK's biggest and growing health crisis. And it's a fight that involves us all – sharing knowledge and taking on diabetes together.  More information about the charity can be found by following the link below.

About us | What we do | Diabetes UK

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