On April 27th, 2025, I’ll be running the London Marathon to raise money for Diabetes Uk, an incredible charity that’s close to my heart. This cause is extremely personal to me and my family, effecting both my Mum and Girlfriend.

My mum has been dealing with type 2 diabetes for the past few years and is thankfully managing to control this with daily medication and support.

My girlfriend Hannah was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 18 months which is nearly 29 years ago, although Hannah is now managing her diabetes better than ever, it hasn’t always been that easy...

My goal is to raise as much money as possible for Diabetes UK, to help fund vital research, support those living with diabetes and ultimately work towards finding a cure. Every donation will make a difference, no matter how small.

To find out more about why this is my chosen charity, please read below…

29 years is a very long time to have diabetes and overcome all the obstacles that you face. As well as the below, Hannah has experienced things that some people may not be aware of, being in a coma for 3 days with DKA “Diabetic Ketone Acidosis” - a life threatening complications, being just one of them..

In August 2019 on one of our first dates, Hannah said to me “I can’t really see”, at the time, little did we know that was the start of a life changing journey.

A few weeks prior Hannah was at a regular eye test appointment when the optician instructed her to be taken to hospital immediately due to two large bleeds on both of her eyes. Hannah was then diagnosed with Diabetic Retinopathy and began treatment on her eyes.

The disease in her left eye was described as “trying to stop a steam train” and was therefore classed as “advanced retinopathy”. Whilst her Right eye was described as manageable if actions were taken as soon as possible.

Hannah began laser treatment to try and burn the bleeds and new blood vessels that were producing rapidly. Unfortunately, we then found out, from receiving this laser treatment, it would cause loss of night vision in both eyes and scaring which led to tension on her retina.

Within the space of 4 weeks, Hannah woke up on holiday to find the vision in her left eye was completely gone. And of course, rushed to Moorfields as soon she was back for advice leading to her first eye surgery.

The Consultant Ophthalmic surgeon explained that her retina had detached and therefore this is the reason there was no vision. There was a likely chance of this surgery being successful, allowing Hannah to see shapes, figures etc.

Although the surgery went as smoothly as possible, the aftercare was quiet challenging. Hannah had a gas bubble put behind her retina to try and reattach it, which meant Hannah lying face down continuously for 3 days so the gas bubble would stay in place.

The follow up appointment was disappointing to Hannah as after a week she was still unable to see out of her left eye. This surgery continued 2-3 times before then trying another method using Oil behind her eye. This meant lying down continuously again however this time for 7 days.

2 days into Hannahs recovery, she was in excruciating pain with her eye and was called back up to Moorfields. This time round the Consultant Ophthalmic surgeon requested an emergency operation to remove the oil as it had travelled round to the front of the eye which is very dangerous and caused her eye pressure to go from 10 to 34. This explained the pain!

The oil removal was successful however this operation had to be done without any anaesthetic as Hannah had undergone too many operations in a short amount of time. After the surgery we were then told that unfortunately the treatment on this eye must come to an end as the nerves behind her eye were so badly damaged there is no way the retina will ever reattach, resulting in permanent loss of sight in her left eye.

In between the surgeries on her left eye, Hannah was still undergoing treatment on her right eye. At some stages Hannah had no vision at all, which was extremely scary for everyone. Especially Hannah

We thought by this point Hannah would have a break from all the surgeries until we then faced another problem with the comfort of her eye and in fact how uncomfortable, unbearable and frustrating it became to take on everyday activities. Hannah was unable to drive, watch TV, read, and go outside into daylight because of the discomfort her eye was causing her.

So, another operation was set in place. This time to remove the calcium from her left eye. This was done by scrapping the calcium from the surface of her eye. We were warned when the anaesthetic wore off Hannah would experience significant pain. She took this with a pinch of salt as she thought she had already faced enough! But wow, Hannah described the pain as if someone had thrown acid into her eye, it was unbearable.

Fortunately, with extremely strong pain killers, Hannah cracked on as she always does. Since then, Hannah has tried a coloured contact lens and prosthetic eye shell for cosmetics reasons however these are still very uncomfortable to wear and has now settled for embracing her two different coloured eyes.

Despite all the above, Hannah has made a huge turn around with her diabetes and reflects on the past as a wakeup call for not looking after her health or attending regular diabetic eye appointments. A truly proud moment when earlier this year Hannahs doctor described her diabetes as “Perfect”. Hannah managed to get her HAB1C from 9.8 to 6.6 in less than 4 months which is incredible. We are all so proud of her. 

Diabetes affects millions of lives in ways that so many people are unaware of, and I’ve seen firsthand how it can impact someone’s daily tasks and health. This is why I’m running—not only for my girlfriend but for everyone who faces the challenges of living with diabetes.

Thank you for your support in helping make a change.