My Story
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about my recent journey and for your consideration to add any size of donation, however big or small, to the charity. This is hugely appreciated.
In the summer of 2025, just over a year ago, I suddenly became very unwell and was admitted into hospital where I remained for nearly two weeks, after a new acute diabetic diagnosis with a blood glucose of 33mmol and ketones right on the border of DKA commencing. Prior to this point, I was a non-diabetic with no previous symptoms or results which alluded to even pre-diabetes, so as you may imagine, this came as a very sudden, unexpected and entirely stressful shock.
It may not be something you have really needed to put much thought into before, or you may not know too many friends or family who are diabetic, but I can tell you that being diagnosed as a new diabetic in an acute stage with no warning, is an incredibly stressful time, and I can only imagine how this must feel for young children and their parents.
It suddenly feels like your life as you knew it has changed, learning how to eat, sleep and drink again. Learning how to do the job of an organ, but realising it doesn’t matter how much you plan your insulin dosage based on food and a range of other factors you didn’t know existed before this point, you’ve still managed to get it wrong because you had the shower slightly too hot today. Then there’s all the effects of how hypos and hypers feel on your mind and body. Feeling sick, feeling like you’re hungover (from eating food?!) alarms going off in the middle of the night because at 4am your glucose dropped far too low.
The new body checks you didn’t know you needed, eyes, feet, kidneys, blood tests, blood tests, so many blood tests.
Anyway, I was fortunate that one of my closest friends who was diagnosed at 8, was there every step of my journey over the last year to educate me, support me, and help me to keep going through all the days and nights I didn’t want to be a pancreas. I also had a very supportive and approachable consultant, who really enabled my journey to progress in the right direction as quickly as possible.
My journey will hopefully continue to improve, but hitting the 1 year mark has made me reflect on all the newly diagnosed diabetics who may not be as fortunate as I’ve been with the level of support or the network they have around them. So in September, we will be walking 10 miles for Diabetes UK, to raise money to support those who do need the charity to help them form a network of support, during their initial life changing diagnosis phase.
Thank you for caring, supporting and donating to this journey, and I promise I will get out of bed early on a Sunday morning to hold up my end of the deal.
