I have learnt so much from our partner charities over the last three years and I am staggered at how difficult life can be for so many young people.
I would like to share a little of what I am learning and understanding as well as championing the remarkable work of charities throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This week I am writing in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF UK) Learning About Living with Type 1 Diabetes One of the most interesting pieces of my charity work, aside from meeting great people, is that I get to learn about various issues impacting the young people BRIT supports. Last week I had the opportunity to visit JDRF, the charity that funds medical research to treat, prevent and ultimately find the cure for the Autoimmune Condition Type 1 Diabetes.
There is often confusion between Type 1 with Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune condition that causes the body’s own immune system to turn on itself and attack cells in the pancreas which produce insulin. While changes in lifestyle, diet and exercise can positively impact type 2, those changes cannot prevent or cure type 1. Currently about 350,000 adults in the UK, including over 26,000 children are affected by type 1 and require multiple daily insulin injections and finger prick blood tests to manage. Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented and can cause devastating complications including blindness, heart disease, stroke, limb amputation and kidney failure along with reducing life expectancy by up to 20 years. During my visit to JDRF I had the pleasure of meeting with Karen Addington, Chief Executive of the charity and a great group of staff who work in different areas of the organisation. Karen knows first-hand about living with type 1 diabetes as she was diagnosed at age 12. Thousands of children across the UK have to deal with type 1 as a part of everyday life. Karen and her team talked me through a day in the life of someone who has the condition, explaining how to manage blood glucose levels by injecting insulin with a needle pen or infusing through an insulin pump to stay alive. Finger prick tests are done throughout the day to check what level of blood glucose is in your body. In order to avoid complications from type 1 later in life it is vital you take good care of your body. You never get a break from type 1.
I was honoured to meet Siobhan, a young woman who shared with me her experiences of living with type 1 since the age of two. She described how high blood sugars make you feel lethargic with a headache and insatiable thirst. There is the opposite danger of running low and feeling confused, shaky and unable to function properly. I was astounded by the amount of work necessary to live with this chronic condition when Siobhan talked me through how much attention type 1 takes on a daily basis. She even has to check her glucose levels overnight to make sure she doesn’t risk having what is called an episode of hypoglycaemia, where blood glucose can fall dangerously low and shockingly can cause death in some cases. Along with managing the ups and downs of living with type 1 Siobhan told me that unfortunately lots of young people also experience discrimination as well. Sadly people are often ignorant of the differences between type 1 and 2 diabetes and young people find themselves criticised and blamed for having the condition. When people hear “diabetes” they often only think of type 2, which can be linked to lifestyle, exercise and diet. Sadly young people with type 1 face remarks, criticism and discrimination from people unaware of the differences. I am deeply grateful to Siobhan for her courage in sharing her story as it helped me to understand the complexity of this condition and the impact on young people’s lives.
My thanks to Karen, and the team at JDRF for spending time explaining to me about type 1 and how profoundly it affects young people’s lives. I am pleased to announce that JDRF have accepted my invitation to become BRIT Advisors and join the BRIT journey. You can read about what the JDRF had to say on becoming a BRIT Advisor on their website here.
If you want to find out more about type 1 diabetes and the research JDRF is doing to find the cure for the condition, visit their website www.jdrf.org.uk
Phil