Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On Saturday 29th July 2023, my husband Richard along with some good friends and parents from our sons football team Richard coaches at Ashby Ivanhoe FC, Phil, Honor, Mike, Brad, Jason and Louise will be filling their backpacks with water and lacing up their walking boots to climb Mount Snowden to raise money for the charity Diabetes UK.

Type 1 is an incurable autoimmune disease and it is very close to our hearts with our own son, Harry being diagnosed in February 2022.

Honor, who is the parent of one of the boys from the football team is also Type 1 Diabetic. Honor has been a huge support since Harry’s diagnosis and will be walking Snowdon in support and to raise awareness too!

What’s Harrys story?

It started with a trip to the doctors for what we thought was a UTI and turned into a frightening admittance to the Children’s High Dependancy Unit in Derby Royal.

He was admitted in DKA (please look this up to see how serious this was) and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes there and then at 8 years old, just a week after his birthday.

For us as a family, it’s now our normal daily life and we’re so proud of Harrison and how TD1 has not let him stop doing anything! He plays football 4 times a week, you wouldn’t have any idea if you didn’t know him he was diabetic!⚽️

This is our reality that we don’t share often, for those that don’t know about TD1 here is a little insight into our daily lives and what we and other families have had to adjust too, it really is life or death!

💙💙

Nobody saw you..

At 3 am, phone torch on, sneaking into his room Every. Single. Night.

Praying he doesn’t wake as you bleed his finger for the 10th time today

3.9mmol, No! Too low for 3 a.m. Get the juice/jelly babies!

Nobody saw you

Holding your screaming child to give them their 5th insulin shot of the day, or change their CGM site so you can monitor them.

“He needs this to survive,” you repeat to yourself

“Will he be able to handle this life?”

“Will I?”

Nobody saw you cry

Because you always have to be so strong

You can’t let him see your broken heart

You must keep going

He has to be so brave, you must set the example

Soldier on

Nobody saw you desperately shoving sugar in your shaking and confused child

“One more sip, baby”

“One more jelly baby for me please”

Staring a hole through the Dexcom

Waiting for the arrows to stop going down

Waiting for the alarm to shut up

Nobody saw you

Trying to count how many carbs he ate at a party

Is that cupcake 20g what about the icing?

Did he eat three french fries, or was it six?

Not enough insulin, he goes high and there’s long-term damage to his little organs

Too much insulin and we’re looking at an immediate and dangerous issue

Nobody saw you on the phone

With your diabetes supply company

With Dexcom support

Your nurse

Several phone calls this week when you were supposed to be working, Or napping, Or eating

Nobody saw you, nobody listened when you tried to educate them, no friends seem to care. Play dates have stopped, those that you thought would try to understand haven’t, no one checks in, about a condition so complex that they can never truly understand unless they live with it

It’s an autoimmune disease

No, it can’t be prevented

No, there is no cure

Yes, he can do anything he wants in life

Yes, he can eat that and whatever he wants with the right amount of insulin

Nobody saw you

So scared to sleep through an alarm

Terrified they might not wake up in the morning

Waking up to feel like you can’t do this crazy dance another day

But you rise to take on another 24 hours – for them

Check the blood sugar, treat the high, count the carbs, treat the low,

Nobody saw any of that

They simply saw you at the park, the museum, food shopping or the coffee shop

Please help us raise money to spread awareness of this disease and help others see the early warning signals of Type 1

Thirsty, Tired, Toilet and Thinner.

Diabetes UK provides much needed research and support for people and families and one day we hope that there can be a cure 💙

All monies raised will go straight to Diabetes UK

#t1d #Type1diabetes #type1diabetic #type1warrior #JDRF #type1awareness #diabetesuk #dexcom