Dear Dia-bestie

Dear Diabestie,

A simple Facebook message. Thats how it started. 

I was nervous. I was meeting up with a stranger who I had met on the internet - this was before I became part of the GBDOC and the only Type 1’s I had ever met were through JDRF Discovery days. 

My parents had always taught me not to talk to strangers, and this one looked pretty dodgy ;)

So the day came and we decided to go bowling. 

10am and we were the only people in the bowling alleys! Do you remember the 10 minutes of awkward chit chat?

‘How long have you been diagnosed?’

‘What subjects to you take?’

etc etc

We finished the game of bowling... after about 10 minutes.

By the end of the day after going for lunch, carb counting, eating ice-cream and walking round the town the initial awkwardness was broken when the ‘disease’ we both have in common completely broke the ice. 

Alyssa - ‘I think Im low’

And in what felt like an alter universe we both could completely understand.

Two weeks later we met again, this time at a Diabetes UK Care Event. It was so lovely to get to meet again, the awkwardness had gone and I felt like I was meeting with a friend I had known for years. You and the other 21 campers made that Care Event which I was very nervous attending one such an amazing experience.

However I'll never forget that moment on the slide when you went low. Im so grateful for that stranger who was strong enough to help pull you from that pool. I cant even put that situation into words because I thought I was going to loose my best friend and I don't want that ever to happen! You do love scaring me with these moments though! ;)

We've been through the highs and lows together (blood sugar wise and life) Always supporting each other along the way. We speak, snapchat, tweet or text lots - I hate that you live so far away. After the Care Event I stayed close with lots of people from the camp but as Skype calls got more infrequent and texts were few and far between the friendships faded, but our friendship remained strong. Our diabetes gave us common ground but now we know that we have so so much more in common.

I think you are so inspiring not just with your diabetes but your general attitude to life. If something knocks you back you come back twice as strong and you are so determined to make a difference! I think its fantastic all the work you do with Just Duk It and I hope one day we will be travelling round doing Diabetes talks together! (The Pumptastic Backpacker?! ;) aha!

Meeting again at the People With Diabetes Conference just confirmed how strong our friendship is. After 2 years apart, even though we speak all the time, you couldn't shut us up, and we tried but failed to hold back the tears as we both went our separate ways again.

Without diabetes I wouldn't have met my best friend and many other amazing friends along the way - thats a very strange thought!

“Friendship is born that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! you too? I thought I was the only one!” - C.S.Lewis

Thankyou for being my ‘Dia - bestie’!

Lyd x

Hope you enjoyed this blog post! If you write a post about your ‘Dia-bestie’ please send me a link! Id love to read it!

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

My Story

Everyones diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes is different.
This is why I started my blog - to share my story and this post was the very beginning.

This is my story…

Every person diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes may have similar symptoms but not everybody's diagnosis is the same. This story is from my account but parts within my memory are hazy. I don't know whether It is because i was so ill or that It was a sensitive time so I've blocked it out. 

It all started when I was in year 7 around the summer term. Everyone who took part in the stage production of Oliver at my high school was taken down to London to see Hairspray the musical as a reward. All I can remember was being incredibly thirsty. Within a few hours of my journey I had drunk nearly all 3 bottles of my water. So as you can imagine after drinking all that water I started to need the toilet. Realising myself that id drunk a lot on the way there, but just putting it down to the fact that it was a novelty to be allowed flavoured water, on the way back I tried not to drink any. However after falling asleep I woke up to find my mouth incredibly dry, resulting in me drinking another bottle. Its just the hot weather making you drink a lot I thought to myself. 

Later in the term I was becoming incredibly tired. By the end of the term I was exhausted. I was still drinking lots and during the end of year exams I started to annoy one or two of my teachers constantly asking to fill up my bottle and asking to go to the toilet. Standing outside my form room, I remember this like yesterday, I fiddled with my skirt and it very nearly fell to the floor. That night we had to buy a new skirt from the school shop before speech day at the end of the week. My mum and dad put it down to a growth spurt and I thought nothing of it.

The summer holidays rolled around. At the beginning of the holidays my cousins, sister and myself went to Filey for a week with my grandparents, something we did nearly ever year since being little. I continued drinking lots and going to the toilet a lot. My gran always tells me how she remembers I was drinking so much Robinsons fruit squash - looking back I agree. Constantly needing the toilet when you are at the beach leads to many difficulties - mainly the lack of toilet! Dragging my gran to the sailing club many times a day she knew something was wrong.

‘Promise me you will go to the Doctors when you get back from Spain’ - Gran the Pan (as we call my Gran haha)

I dismissed it - I didn't think anything was wrong.

Our holiday in Filey ended and we headed straight for our friends villa in Spain. This time with my parents, sister, cousins, auntie and uncle. This is where I became ill quickly. I was eating constantly  (I developed a love for ham toasties) and loosing dramatic weight. Every night I would get up around 5 times and every morning Id have drunk around 4 litres of water (Its hard to hide how much you have drunk when the water is in a bottle abroad!) Every morning when Id wake up I was as tired as I had been that night when I had gone to bed. But everybody is sleepy and lazy on holiday - thats what I thought my tiredness was down too! My dad and uncle tried to throw me in the pool, ‘don’t snap her she's like a twig!’ my dad joked (unknowingly of course!)

When we arrived home my mum took me to the doctors, I tried to persuade her not to go but it was no use. This is a TMI warning - so they wanted me to wee in a bottle and as a 12 year old girl I refused. We took the bottle home and was told to bring it back the next morning. Finally after sleeping on the idea I reluctantly did. The doctors then ran some tests and told my mum the results should be there later that day and they would ring us. But an hour later there was a phone call…

It was Doctor Brophy my godparent and GP. He told my mum and dad that I urgently needed to go to hospital because I had extremely high blood sugar and ketone readings. We rushed all the way to the hospital and I had some more tests. They weighed me and took some blood samples. My mum and dad were both really nervous but I didn't really understand. They told me that I was Type 1 Diabetic and that my bloods were 38! They explained to me that a non diabetics blood sugar is between 4 and 7. I weighed around 4.3 stone and my condition at the time was severe. They told us that I was very lucky and that if we had not gone to the doctors on that day I would have been in a coma (shortly followed by death from DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis))

5th August 2009 - The date I was diagnosed.

It was really hard being diagnosed with a ‘disease’ (ergh I hate that term!) that you have never heard of and there is no cure for. It hit my parents especially hard. I remember being sat in a room and my dad having to leave - I know it was because he was trying to process it and didn't want me to see him upset. My mum with soft Northern Irish heart just cried. (Ive just cried writing this). I refused to stay in hospital that night. I just wanted to go home. I was told I was allowed if I did my own injection at home and came straight back the next morning. ‘ (From what I recall - my dad may have a different version) What would you like?’ My dad asked when we were sat in the hospital. Instant laugher from the nurses and my dad when they found out it was going to cost my parents an iPhone 3. Every cloud and all that ;) haha!

The rest of the summer is just a blur to me - I remember going to Clumber Park in our caravan, we always go to Clumber when a big event happens in our life. But apart from that all I remember from the rest of the summer is my parents helping me (mostly them) carb counting my dinner, scales, carb ratios and insulin injections.I did my own injections from the start - I refused to let anyone else inject me.

September rolled around and with all my new diabetic supplies I headed off to my first day of year 8. I was lucky enough for my mum to work at school so she let all the staff know that I had Type 1 - however I was petrified of telling my friends. Our first lesson was Biology and I think all the stress got to me because I felt really strange. From what I remember id only had this feeling once before. I checked my blood sugars and they were low. I remember being really embarrassed having to tell my teacher I was low but she was lovely. Some of the symptoms of low blood sugars are lack of concentration, dizziness and shakiness. I had two plain digestive biscuits to bring me back up as my eyes were welled up with tears. My friends on my table asked what was wrong. Newly diagnosed I didn't know how everyone would react. Only knowing about Type 2 before I was diagnosed and how it was portrayed in the media I thought they'd think it was because of my weight (which to be honest) you must have been able to tell it wasn’t! 

I wrote it on my wrist - ‘I have Type 1 Diabetes’ - That took so much of my courage.

Being Diagnosed with Type 1 wasn't the be all and end all. It was the beginning and the start of a long journey but not a bad one - its a roller coaster. It was a learning process, it still is and it always will be. I hope by sharing my story it will be relatable to other Type 1’s - the unknown, the confusion and the symptoms. If you didn’t know what it was like to be diagnosed with Type 1 i hope its given you more of an understanding (and well done for reading to the end!)

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

JDRF #Type1catalyst at Parliament

Two years ago I attended Parliament with JDRF for the #countmein campaign. During this event we lobbied with MP's raising awareness and spreading our stories about living with Type 1 Diabetes. At Type 1 Parliament we were trying to back government funding towards Type 1 and I was privileged enough to have a private interview with Ed Miliband who was very nice and really interested in what I had to say about Type 1. I even found out that Ed's uncle helped design the first insulin pump! 

On Monday I attended Parliament with JDRF again, but this time the event was called #Type1catalyst and was different to the event two years prior. Joined by health care professionals, MP's and their Type 1 constituents, and of course the lovely team from JDRF, Type 1 Catalyst was in full flow. Jamie Reed MP, lead the event giving a fantastic speak and we were also joined by Derek Rapp, who is the CEO of JDRF US and it was very nice to meet him along with Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes at NHS England who attended the event. Theresa May, Home Secretary popped in to help us celebrate the event and it was lovely to meet Chris Askew, Chief executive of Diabetes UK. It was  fantastic to able to meet some of the Type 1 community from Twitter, as well as many JDRF staff who Id been in contact with over twitter and emails such as Callum, Chris, Dean and George, finally having a conversation face to face! 

The Type 1 Catalyst event allowed us as people that lived with Type 1 and our MPs to hear about, and help us celebrate the successes of research towards potential cures and treatments for Type 1. The CEO of JDRF, Karen Addington said that these ideas are no longer ideas, and seeing how far even in the past two years research is progressing at Type 1 Catalyst it shows extremely exciting prospects for the future! One of the researchers who attended the event in Parliament who I was able to speak with was Mark Peakman, who is a Professor of Clinical Immunology at Kings College. Mark is working constantly behind the scenes figuring out how to stop the body attacking the beta cells which produce insulin and has found that you are less at risk of complications if your body still produces C - Peptide. 

Overall the event was fantastic being able to see the excitement and support behind Type 1 Diabetes! As a Catalyst speeds up processes it is brilliant to see the fast paced changes and improvements within the world of Type 1 Diabetes! As Jamie Reed stated 'We have to keep rattling the bars!' Change is happening but we have to keep pushing for change. We need to keep being the catalyst, but with all the fantastic support from the government and JDRF - Im positive that Type 1 Diabetes will will become Type 0. 

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes - type1

My A Level art mood board about Type 1. Including pictures of only diabetic friends, old omnipod insulin pods and my favourite inspirational quotes

Once upon a time a 12 year old girl was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Nearly 7 years on there is a few things I wish people knew...

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes 

• Is 24/7 - there are no days off (not even Christmas!)
• T1D affects around 400,000 people in the UK
• Is a roller coaster of emotions and blood sugar readings
• but somehow we keep positive - most of the time!
• as no two days are the same and it can be frustrating
• no we didn't get it from eating too much sugar
• there are two main types of diabetes
• is nothing to do with lack of exercise
• …or poor diet
• and does not always come from elderly people
• and diabetics don't want to hear how a distant relative have their foot chopped off
• we have to carry around life saving equipment every every da

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes

• is not a death sentence if managed
• but it nearly killed my best friend so it is very downplayed in seriousness 
• and sometimes there is no explanation why
• it is emotionally hard to deal with
• and there is no such thing as a perfect diabetic
• it causes 40% of diabetics to have an eating disorder
• and burnout is common - it needs to be talked about
• and its OK to ask for help
• even though we aren't alone sometimes we feel it
• if we have a low blood sugar it is not because we did something wrong and we DO have to have sugar to bring our bloods back up
• it is not cured by cinnamon or other herbal diets - not even by a low carb diet
• it makes any common illness you get ten times worse
• but makes us 10 times stronger
• has given me the best friends 
• has allowed me to be part of an amazing community
• … who feel like my family - some of whom i haven't even met yet

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes

• if seen in a positive light has allows you to conquer and do some amazing things
• but has led to struggles during exams and stressful times
• but at the same time we forget everyone struggles 
• its a hard job - theres no sugar coating it
• and we SHOULD NOT be defined by our Hba1c
• it affects the whole family not just the sufferer
• and although we may not always say it were so thankful

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes

• my insulin pump doesn't magically ‘do’ my diabetes for me - its not a pancreas!
• and some devices we have to pay for… 
• we have to calculate all carbs in our head
• … but we don't get a maths degree (boo)
• we can eat ANYTHING (in proportion obvs) as long as we inject for it
• diabetes doesn't stop me from doing anything… i just need to be more prepared (good job i used to be a girlguide and scout!)
• and it DEFINITELY does not define me
• but to those who feel defined by it at the moment - one of my nurses called Sarah from my old team in Doncaster once told me ‘Life always has its ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like your entering a black tunnel with no light is sight - but you will come out the other side’ - that stuck with me and I hope it will stick we you too - keep going x

Finally…

#Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes - makes me part superhuman (well thats what I used to tell the Beaver Scouts anyway ;) 

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

#TADtalks2016

Partha I've just being paid! Do you have any spaces left for TAD?! I'd heard a lot about TAD (talking about diabetes conference) from Twitter and this was the first year it was running. I really wanted to go so as soon as I was paid (and Partha kindly found me a space) I booked my tickets to London!

I didn't really know what to expect but I knew some fantastic speakers were there, one of whom I had already met a couple of weeks before called Lis who had lived with Type 1 for over 50 years and another Ninjabetic - who somehow we always end up discussing at my clinic appointments! 

On the way down to London, like a loner I might add, I was sat on a table of four on the train, with three older women who all knew each other. With my headphones in watching Miranda on my phone, I pricked my finger and tested my sugars. Around me on the table I could hear 'that young girl has diabetes - how much sugar do you have to eat as a kid to get that so young - disgusting.’ DISGUSTING?! I was very tempted to take out my earphones and give them a full lecture (including lecture notes) on the difference between the two main types diabetes but not wanting to make the train ride awkward and being very hangry from not having time for breakfast I drowned them out with the sound of Miranda - such fun.

After arriving in London and catching the tube to South Kensington I arrived at the conference hall in Imperial College London. It was so lovely to meet everyone again from the PWDC16 a couple of weeks before, my friend Abi who I met volunteering on a Diabetes Uk camp last summer and new faces who I've seen on the #gbdoc twitter sphere. 

The day started off hearing from Justin Webb from BBC Radio 4 who introduced the event and told us about his son and how his son had type 1. It was interesting to hear diabetes from a parents perspective as many of the talks I attend are always the HCP's views or the views from the person who actually has diabetes. 

There were many fantastic speakers throughout the day who are truly inspiring to the world of diabetes. We heard heartbreaking and inspirational stories, one of which has stuck in my head from Weston (#wearenotwaiting) who lead an moving talk on Nightscout and his reason behind it. We also heard from many other amazing speakers such as Anne Coops who spoke about resilience and how diabetes treatments have changed over the years. In true diabetic style when Annes pump started alarming she whipped it out from her bra - something that every diabetic has done but hilarious to see first hand during a talk - good job we were all diabetics who understood! :P ahaha!

The first speaker of the day was Joe Eldridge. It was amazing to here his story about cycling with Novo Nordisk and how competition didn't just bring out the best in him, but also the best in his diabetes. The competitive streak helped Joe to get to the next level and this came about when he had only £8 left in his bank account, after constantly having to buy burritos for his team mate, after loosing the bet of having the best blood sugars - so he knew he had to win the bet. On the way to the burrito place he checked his blood sugars 4 times to make sure they were in range and after that day the burrito bet was off. I absolutely loved this as I find that competition is something that motivates me with my diabetes and therefore I could relate to Joes story a lot. It is also inspiring how the cyclists from Novo Nordisk can control their diabetes even with the factors of adrenaline and how that raises blood sugars along with everything else that diabetes may throw at them during an 100 mile race. I've found my diabetes inspiration - I struggle a lot with my diabetes and sport but Joe has proved to me that nothing can stop you if you’re really passionate. 

All this talk about diabetes and the burrito bet made me want to check my sugars to see if they were in range. Again I pricked my finger and a whole fountain of blood poured over the table leaving it looking like a crime scene - lucky I was in a room full of people who I'm sure this has happened too as well! 

Ooh 5.6 #wheresmyburrito

Next up was Lis and I was very excited to hear about her life with Type 1 as she has never given speeches about it before. Firstly Lis talked about the Palmer injection which looked awful! A massive metal contraption to inject the insulin. Lis said it hurt no more than a cannula but the look of it was like something out a horror movie! When Lis was first diagnosed she had to over eat to be able to accurately count for carbohydrates! Now we know, years later that this can lead to dangerous thought processes and as we learnt from the DPC16 that 40% of diabetics actually develop an eating disorder. 

Lis also spoke about her experience with her diabetes over the years ‘Volunteer, go change it, do something about it’ and the diabetes community as ‘One thing that transformed my life was talking to others’ this just shows as a community how powerful we are! Lis also spoke about sugar surfing and taking her diabetes management into her own hands through the use of technology. ‘Getting a CGM was like turning a light on and id realised id been waling around in the dark’. 

Laura (ninjabetic) spoke about her misdiagnosis, something that many people in the room could relate too, and how the first 10 years of her diabetes was challenging due to not having the proper help and teaching at her diagnosis due to being diagnosed in Disneyland Paris and having all of her basic training in French. Lauras story inspired me. As a teenager with Type 1 I could relate to the feelings of frustration and wanting to not be diabetic from time to time - people who don't have diabetes done quiet understand the strain. After 10 years Laura met Partha and found blogging and social media to be such a massive positive influence towards her diabetes and is now (i would say) THE most successful diabetes advocate out there. 

‘It was nice not to be high all the time - its nice to be able to say that in a room full of people that understand’

One of the most poignant moments of the day was a little girls response to Richards Lane, a past president for Diabetes UK and their first Ambassador, who gave a fantastic speech about his Islet Cell transplant. ‘What was it like being off insulin?’ she asked and I don't think there was a dry eye in the lecture theatre. Heartbreaking.

It was also lovely to have a member of Parliament Jamie Reed speak about the experience of his sons Type 1 and of course his own. Jamie Reed is also hosting Type 1 Parliament this upcoming month and I look forward to meeting him again to try and raise more awareness for the condition.

Overall #TADtalk2016 was an amazing idea from Partha Kar Diabetes Consultant at Portsmouth Hospital, Catherine Peters from GOSH and there was Peter Hindmarsh from UCL. Id like to say a big thank you to all of the amazing speakers as well as it was a fantastic day and I can wait for next year! … and possibility #TADpoles ;)

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

Were going on a diabetes uk care event!

Were going on a diabetes uk care event!

Side note: Im sorry this blog has taken so long to go up. This is about my experience as a camper on a care event and my next blog with be about being a volunteer on a care event. Its taken me ages to write this (don't get me wrong the quality is average! ahaha! But Ive written this and edited it lots because I just cant do justice and put it into words how valuable these experiences have been to me.

'One of the most beautiful qualities of a friendship is to understand and be understood' - meeting 23 other teenagers with the same 'disease' as me this week confirms that. A friendship is based on common ground and we already had this. Over this past week I have make some of the most amazing friends who we have shared such a emotional week with! It was strange watching everyone test and treat hypos but amazing that we all properly understand how life with type 1 is like! We can do anything that anyone else can do and this weeks confirmed this for me! I love these guys to pieces and I'm so pleased to have met them♥’

#Showmeyourpump

When I was 17 I had only met a few people with type one diabetes. Growing up not knowing many people apart from a few teenagers on Jdrf discovery days and online is hard. People in everyday life are always so supportive but really they can only sympathise and through no fault of there own just don't get the emotional and physical extent of T1. 

Alyssa

Id met lots of lovely type 1’s through Facebook but I wanted to meet people like me and spend time with them - i guess, i wanted to feel ‘normal for a while’. I know I'm not a green alien with four eyes but wearing your organ on your sleeve isn't exactly conventional! haha! Looking through the Internet I came across Diabetes uk care events - something I had never heard of before! How!? I found a care event for 16 to 18 year olds in Centre Parks and excitably applied to the camp. As the time drew near I asked in a Facebook group if anyone else had applied for the event to which two girls replied. Maya, who I had previously met at a JDRF day and Alyssa who lived in Scotland. A couple of weeks before the camp my family and I travelled to Scotland for a sailing event where Alyssa and I met up and got to know each other - to this day she is still my best friend. Camp rolled around and I was so nervous! But knowing one or two people made me feel a bit more at ease. 

Our house

However arriving at the event I decided to make the most of meeting people like me. Within the first couple of hours of being there it was like we'd know each other all of our lives! Cliche I know - but it was true! Normally when you meet new people you have to make awkward small talk whilst you try to find something remotely in common, however with us all having the same disease we already had a connection. It's so strange to meet a group of people from all over the Uk and have loads of funny stories about your hypos and hypers which everyone else can relate too.

At camp we were all in houses of 4 two boys, two girls and two leaders, allowing us to be independent... To an extent! My house consisted of two leaders; Bryony and Lidia (who also has type 1!) and were both lovely. My housemates and three other fellow type 1’s were, James, Alfie and Maya (what a coincidence!). 

Gill Scrambling

The week consisted of some amazing activities! From Go Ape to Gill Scrambling everyone got so involved with all the activities (even the leaders!). Each activity allowed you to be adventurous and try new things you may have been to worried about trying on school trips because you may have been too scared about your blood sugar and none understanding your condition properly. But this was different. None was the odd one out - if it was anyone it was some of the leaders who didn't have it! It also made you feel safe knowing that people around you understood and we were all fighting the same condition. Peoples bloods reacted differently with each activity - because type 1 is never the same for each person! 

As well as getting to learn more about how our bloods reacted to different activities we also got to learn from each other. I don't know about any other type 1’s but i find it fascinating to learn about other peoples diagnosis stories! (Nosey Parkhurst!) Spending time going swimming, on the activities and team bonding as well as having diabetes makes you so close and makes memories that I know ill treasure forever. 

Even after two years I speak all the time to my two best friends Grant and Alyssa who I met on this camp. We provide each other with so much support and understanding. We are having a reunion at the People with Diabetes Conference at the end of February and I cannot even explain how excited i am to see them both again. I still speak to so many of the other campers from the holiday and it has made diabetes feel like a blessing some ways because without it i wouldn't have met them. Im so glad I went on the care event because (without sounding cliche) I has made me feel less alone and I have made friends that will last a lifetime. Finally a massive thank you too all the volunteers who without, this event would never have happened <3

Finally, Centre parks  - ‘Whats the crack?!’

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx

T1D looks like me?

So yesterday was Diabetes day! JDRF have set out on a campaign ‘T1D look like me’ 

Type 1 diabetes does look like me… kind of... but again its just branding us under an umbrella again - that doesn't explain the person behind the diabetes. Theres so much more to me than my diabetes! It has to live with me - I’m not going to let it define me. So in this blog post Im going to show you that there is more behind me than my disease (I hate calling it that!)

T1D looks like…

The extremely ill 12 year old, hours away from death  (my last photo before my diagnosis - weighing in at diagnosis at just over 4 stone)

  

The cannula tan lines

The teenager who just wants a break - but knowing the relentless toll of T1 is 24/7















The knotting anxiety of being to low/ high
















The 70's looking technology

The amazing support from others *Ahem* #GBDOC

BUT I AM...

The girl who doesn't take herself seriously

yes yes i did time the jump wrong HAHAHA

The pet lover

The expectation passer 

Duke of Edinburgh Silver

Duke of Edinburgh Gold award London

Work experience at Parliament London

A family girl

The art lover

The adventurer

The charity ambassador

Children in Need charity day

Sixth form Charity night for JDRF

Raising awareness with Ed Miliband

MP Andrew Gwynne

The type 1 diabetes care event volunteer

The rollercoaster hater!

The fear facer!

The friend

The blogger/ social media enthusiast!

 The geography student

The hockey player

The quote lover

I AM ME NOT MY T1D

Overall although Type 1 Diabetes may influence my life, it does so 95% of the time in a positive way. It allows me to raise awareness, have amazing opportunities and meet fantastic people! Without my Type 1 Diabetes (as weird as this is going to sound!) I think I would be quite a boring person! It makes me more grateful for everyday life, it has enabled me to meet some of my best friends who without T1D i would never have known. I love JDRFs 'Type 1 D looks like me' but I don't want to be defined as my disease. First and foremost I am me.

Lots of love The Backpacker and the Pod xxx