Riley and Avana

Type 1 diabetes awareness Fundraiser

 Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease and is life long.  

T1D is caused by an autoimmune reaction in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

Whilst there have been advancements in treatment, 

Sadly there isn’t a cure, Yet. 

We feel extremely lucky with how far they have come with technology to help Avana and all other T1D sufferers lead a “normal” life, however, this takes a lot of forward thinking and adjustments to everyday life just to avoid having regular Hypoglycaemia Attacks and Hyperglycaemia attacks.

Being Parents to a child with Type 1 diabetes means being their substitute pancreas ... When your child has Type 1, you have to constantly think about blood glucose levels, day and night, and make the necessary adjustments to keep your child safe which includes counting Every Carb of every food and drink they consume by calculating it against their current blood glucose levels to give them the correct amount of insulin to keep them alive. Every physical activity has to be considered and taken into account for insulin levels and is a huge responsibility to keep your child safe. 

We spend each day and night making sure Avana has enough insulin. She has to have insulin injections before every meal, to allow her to eat and digest normal food and drinks. This is every day for the rest of her life, at least 5 times per day. 

As a Parent You live with constant anxiety about 'what could happen' regarding blood glucose levels watching them rise up and go down Low wondering what you could have done differently. Helping them through the indescribable mood changes,  watching them be so exhausted from it that they refuse Hypo treatment and hearing them cry wanting to just “be normal” is absolutely heartbreaking and exhausting.

Riley has been an incredibly supportive Big brother to Avana Since Diagnosis and Avana and Riley are keen to Run/walk 5K to raise awareness and Money by doing the;

Breakthrough T1D One Walk London - formerly JDRF

There is simply not enough awareness for Type1 Diabetes and If we can help by raising some awareness and money towards this cruel disease and help towards finding a cure then I feel this is our way to help the T1D community.  

We are 13 weeks in to our T1D Journey….

Avana we couldn’t be more proud of you 🌟