I am looking forward to riding The Bend, especially after
our practise session the other week.

I have participated in 5, 24 hour pedal prix events when I was at school and competed in Revolve 24 in 2019 with the ‘Riding for The Boys’ team raising funds for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 

Although the team members are different this year, I will be again be riding for "Riding for the Boys" and our fundraising efforts will hopefully lead to a cure for type 1 diabetes.

I was diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes @ 22 months,
since then I have had thousands of blood tests, insulin injections and site changes for my insulin pump. And now that I have been using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), I have probably inserted around a hundred of those sensors.

When I was young I spent a lot of time in hospital, not just
when I diagnosed and Mum and Dad had to learn how to manage my diabetes, within 24 hours of discharge I was back in hospital having caught the rotavirus while in hospital.

To avoid dehydration when I had gastro, or going into a
diabetic coma when my ketones were out of control, I would be admitted to hospital to have a drip inserted. I have got to the stage where I watch the doctors insert the needle, judging whether they have done a good job. I am sensitive to the tape which holds the insulin site on, CGM in place and the tape which holds the drip in place, so I constantly have a spot where there is a reaction
somewhere on my body.

After 17 years I am over diabetes, I just want to live a normal life and not have to worry about how small choices in my day to day life will effect my diabetes and my blood glucose levels.

From the outside looking in I am like anyone else, I work 5 days a week, I'm a uni student at flinders studying exercise science and I train and play a varity of sports such as AFL, cricket and cycling. 

During this upcoming 24 hour event I will be cheered on by my family and girlfriend as well as the thought of raising money for a difference.

I don’t want people to think of me as that diabetic kid, so
I don’t let everyone know I am – which I know could save my life one day - I want just to be Hayden, and not have to deal with this chronic disease 24/7 365 days a year. Let’s hope a cure is found before the complications of diabetes effects my body.