Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page!
This year I am taking part in the Great North Run! Like many many other things in 2020 this had to be postponed, which didn't help with my lack of motivation over lockdown and inevitable lockdown podge. However, I am now getting back on track and starting to look forward to it!
I wanted to say thank you in my sponsorship to an organisation that has helped me get to this ripe ole age. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2007. I'd been ill and lethargic for a while and lost about two stone in weight. Initially the daily injections were the scariest concept, but this was soon surpassed by a fear of the future. Maybe I’d go blind, lose my feet, damage my kidneys… and maybe this would this be my fault for not keeping my blood sugar in check. I quickly found that ‘keeping it in check’ is a never ending and sometimes seemingly impossible task, with blood sugars changing with the time of day, activity, type of activity, stress, time of the month, being hot, being cold, concentration, illness, weight, alcohol, medications… the list goes on. It is constantly on your mind and can be an exhausting and lonely task. I struggled with this for many years but am now facing it head on, thanks to being able to speak more openly with others and learning from their experiences, wider understanding and improving medical care.
Diabetes UK is dedicated to improving all of these aspects and more; supporting people with the disease, wider awareness and research. They are helping to raise standards of NHS care, which is so important as I have found huge variations whilst living across the country. Little things like getting the latest blood test meter can be life changing! Cases of diabetes related sight loss have halved in Wales thanks to equipment funded by Diabetes UK.
Running a half marathon distance is a big enough challenge, but especially with Type 1 diabetes... I avoided exercise for a long time for fear of a hypo, and when I finally started I found that blood sugar levels responding to different types of exercise, combined with all the other variables, can be an absolute rollercoaster. However, reading stories about fellow diabetics running marathons and all their advice and support has inspired me to take it on!
Any donation you can manage, to help Diabetes UK help as many people as possible (and spur me on) will be so greatly appreciated.
Thank you! x
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